Carrot Sticks and Cupcakes

Toddler Management

2011-10-03T07:54:00.000-07:00

When we first moved into our new ward (congregation) at church I was surprised at the lack of reverence in Sacrament meeting. Over the last year or two it has improved, but there are still some families I want to shake and say "PLEASE stop sending YOUR toddler to every one else's bench. Sit with your own child I already have my own to watch!" or "Please put your buffet lunch away until later! I'm tired of the crumbs and the noisy wrappers!" or "The pews are NOT jungle gyms!" But...I don't want to offend and really its not my place.

When I read this post today over at The Idea Room I wanted to broadcast it to the world ...or at least my ward!
So, if you have toddlers and are getting frustrated at church when you spend more time in the hall than the classroom go over and read "Toddler Management 101" and be inspired!

By the way, I'm not saying that my family is perfectly reverent, we have spent our fair share sitting in empty classrooms or in the hall. I have broken out the candy when I just could not take another second of whining. My kids have crawled under benches faster than I can grab their little ankles. But we are trying and as they get older it gets easier....except for the moody pre-pre-teen. But that is probably a whole different blog post!

The Funeral

2011-08-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

My grandmother was a BEAUTIFUL person. Her funeral was just as it should have been. I feel like I should write about that day, but to me it felt like such a sacred day that I'll probably save my thoughts for my personal journal.

My mother gave the euology. It was perfect. I learned so much about her. I had no idea that grandma was the family photographer. Photographing the family for events and yearly pictures. She turned her bathroom into a dark room and printed copies for all who asked. I always assumed it was my grandfather's darkroom enlarger that they had given me, but it was my grandmothers.

The other day, Sarah, my 4 year old said to me, "Mom, I wish Grandma never died."
"Me too." I replied.
"I liked her."
"Me too, Sarah, Me too."

Monday & Tuesday

2011-08-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

We left for camp an hour later than we had planned on Monday morning but we arrived safely and we weren't late. I met the beautiful girls in my cabin and handed out all the extra supplies I was told I wasn't going to need but did. Two girls (sisters) forgot their entire toiletry bag. I must have been inspired to pack exactly 2 extra toothbrushes and full size shampoo and conditioner!

We made our camp shirt out of a M&M stamp I made using some craft foam and the bottom of a tape container. (I'll post a tutorial later if anyone is interested.)

There were fun camp songs, skits and ditties. By 10pm I was exhausted. Just as I was falling asleep that night I was startled awake by what I thought was a mountain lion. Turns out someone in our cabin snores...loudly!

Tuesday morning was spent at the tide pools. Tuesday afternoon I took a short nap and then chatted with my co-cabin mom until the Camp Director came in with her phone and a message to call home. I knew what the call would be about, and I was right. I didn't get my 1-2 weeks. I got two days. Grandma Vincent had passed away. While I knew it was coming and it shouldn't have been a shock, it was. Somehow I knew months in advance that she would pass while I was away at camp. I think it was the Holy Ghost telling me "don't go to camp or be prepared to leave early." But I didn't listen. I went. I wasn't really prepared to come home early, but I did.

The women at camp were amazing. Those who I chose to tell or were near by when I found out, jumped in to replace me in the cabin, help me pack my things and get everything squared away. I asked them not to tell the girls why I was leaving. I didn't mind them knowing, but number 1, I didn't want to be a downer on their camp experience, and number 2, I couldn't handle 100 young women and girls hugging me and telling me they were sorry.

That night, we had a lesson in our cabin about being a virtuous woman. There was a half carved statue of a woman wearing next to nothing close to the entrance of the camp. After lights out we gathered up all the extra blankets and sheets available, snuck down there and dressed her! The above picture is the best I have for now. I talked to the young women about modesty when we came back and about having virtue. I bore them my testimony that they are LOVED daughters of God. I told them that they were all born full of virtue and that we were they only ones who could let our virtue go. It was a very touching moment that I will remember forever.

I didn't sleep too well that night. And on Wednesday morning after breakfast, I drove the 4 hours home.

Sunday

2011-08-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

Recently I was called to be the new primary president in our ward. This was the first week that I would take over the position. It was a little chaotic. People who usually are known for the punctuality were 5-10 minutes late. I didn't know anyone's name and I wasn't quite sure on how long the music portion was suppose to go. Other women who had been there longer than I filled in when I was at a loss. Its amazing how perceptive women can be!

I talked to one little boy before primary started. He and his brother are not well known for being reverent. I asked him if he could do me a BIG favor, if he felt like he could. I asked him if he could help me out by being a good example today, because some of the other kids weren't being very reverent. He enthusiastically agreed. When his older brother overheard or conversation he volunteered to help too! I have never seen those two boys sit still for so long. It was amazing. I was sure to thank them after primary.

Sunday evening my mother called to let me know that my grandmother, who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few months ago, was not doing well. The hospice worker estimated that she had 1-2 weeks left. I cried a little and said a prayer that she was comfortable.

I finished packing all my bags and then stared at the ceiling until midnight. I love knowing that I have a long day ahead of me and not being able to sleep.

Update since last post

2011-08-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

I did run out and did a little bit of shopping before I got a frantic and firm call from my husband telling me to drop everything and come home NOW. I walked in our front door to what looked like a horror film with blood covering walls, towels and my bed. My youngest daughter somehow managed to drop a pretty heavy ceramic lamp on her head. Husband threw daughter in the car and said, "GO!"

So off I drive to the nearest urgent care, which closed 45 minutes earlier. I drive another 8 minutes to the next urgent care which had closed earlier than the door said it should....dumb door! Next stop, hospital Emergency Room.

I have driven to this hospital at least 5 times and have driven right past it at least a dozen more. But this time, I made every wrong turn imaginable. By the time I got inside, I gave them the wrong daughter's name, the wrong birthday and my mother's telephone number when they asked for mine. I've decided that all of this information (including a map and operating times of all close emergency centers) needs to be written down and in my purse at all times. I'll be working on that next week. They asked me if she had lost consciousness. I told them I don't think so, but I'm pretty sure my husband did. Then we sat.

Four hours and $5 in vending machine pop tarts (which I had a case of in my car but couldn't go out and get lest I missed hearing her name) later, they finally called her back, cleaned up her 1 inch head wound and glued it back together. This whole process took less than 10 minutes and cost us a $50 co pay. I could complain about that copay, in fact I did, but at least I had insurance.

Overall she was a trooper. Didn't cry once while they were scrubbing her cut ( I almost did).

She was asleep before her head hit the pillow that night. My husband had cleaned up all the blood, a giant feat for him, and had it all in the washing machine before I got home. I had to run out to the grocery store to finish my girls camp shopping, which included food for the week I was gone so my dear sweet husband wouldn't starve to death for 5 days.

And thus concludes night number 1 of 8 of not having any sleep whatsoever. To be continued.

Girls Camp

2011-07-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

For the first time in 14 years I get to go to my church's Girls Camp! Girls camp is only for girls 12-18. It usually lasts for a week and consists of both "camp stuff" and "spiritual stuff" (both technical terms). They asked me to go as a co-cabin mom for one of the 2 year cabins. I'm so excited that the other cabin mom is a fantastic woman and one of my new good friends.

We are leaving at 8am Monday morning. Which means, that if I need to go buy anything like soap holders, green nail polish or bug spray I have to do it today (since I don't shop on Sundays). I was planning on going when my wonderful husband came home from work so I didn't have to drag my beautiful angelic children with me, but he just called and told me he'll be a work until midnight......

.....SCRATCH THAT!!! He just walked in the door! I'm so out of here!

I LOVE My Family!

2011-05-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

5 Minutes after church.

3 Minutes until guests arrive.

1 tri-pod.

1 Todd, who just came by to drop off some scout papers, got the pleasure of hitting the shutter 45 times.

It all adds up to this beautiful family portrait!

County Writing Festival!

2011-05-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

My very beautiful and talented 1st grade daughter won 3rd place in the county writing festival in her grade level! Lissy and all of the other winners were invited to an awards ceremony at the local mall, where she was awarded a beautiful white ribbon.

We are all so proud of her!

Etsy Find

2011-05-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to see more.

I've been pinned!

2011-04-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

I know, you're probably not as excited as I am, but its still pretty cool!

www.pinterest.com

2011-04-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

Have you found Pinterest yet?

Its an amazing site where you can collect all of the ideas you find online for food, photos, crafts, home design, gifts and a whole bunch more, all in one place. Any images you find on a website or blog that you want to remember where to find later is stored on one of your "boards" where you can link back to the original page along with any of your comments.

So far, one of the best parts is being able to browse through other people's boards and see what interests both or you. Go ahead, check out my page HERE

(My husband won't admit it, but he's obsessed with it too. He says I spend too much time on there, but every time he sees me looking at it, he runs over to peak over my shoulder and "suggests" certain images to click on.)

Favorite Things Swap

2011-04-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

My swap partner, Lori is AMAZING!! My package arrived right in the middle of a very hectic day and it killed me when the post man delivered it and it had to sit there for 4 hours before I could excape from my life and lock myself in my room to open all of the very adorable bright blue packages.

She must be my long lost twin since she picked out some of my favorite things!

Pretzel M&M's - A first for me, but totally a favorite now

Orange Photo Albums - How did she know I could have a use for those?!

Fun Post-it Pads and Note Cards

Tide to go pen

Orange Trident Gum - yum!

Food Magazine

and three cute presents for my three cute kids.

Thanks Again Lori!!

Engagement Portraits

2011-03-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

Heather and Michael are getting married in June.
I met Heather in December and she was/is delightful.
I met Michael yesterday and, he too, was/is delightful.
I spent over 2 hours with them yesterday and I don't think I've ever met a more perfect couple!

I've always wanted to shoot a composite shot like this one....

but hadn't found the perfect spot until yesterday!

I can't wait to photograph them again in June.

I WON!!!!

2011-03-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! I never win anything...well I did win $5 once in Jr. High School because I was the only one at the assembly who remembered the speaker's last name. It was Mr. Green.....
...
I take that back... I won the game Taboo from Our Dandelion Wishes last year....so I guess I win stuff occasionally. But I'm still excited!

I stumbled across The Arthur Clan blog and signed up to win a $50 gift certificate The Vintage Pearl, and guess who won! ME! Thats right, me!

I've always loved their jewelry, especially this piece

and this piece

which one would you choose?

I'm SO Excited!!!!

2011-03-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

I get to participate in Mamarazi's Favorite Things Swap(even though I'm considered a slacker blogger ---its ok, its true)

Who Feels Like Being My Best Friend?

2011-03-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

My Cousin-In-Law Ashleigh just posted the most dangerous post ever! Its dangerous because, up until now, the only place I could get a cream puff was at a wedding reception or by buying a whole tub at Costco. And since I'm not at a wedding or Costco everyday it was pretty unlikely that I could eat a dozen cream puffs daily.

But NOW....I can make them everyday!!! OR even better, YOU can make them for me everyday!

You're Welcome!

Bee In Our Bonnet

My New Favorite Etsy Shops

2011-03-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

The Young Women in my ward at church are having a Silent Auction Fundraiser to earn money for camp. All of the girls are collecting items from family and friends and I thought I'd do my party by soliciting total strangers!

I went to one of my favorite places to shop, ETSY and searched for vendors who were also LDS and would have products that would sell well. All of the wonderful shops I have listed below said "YES" immediately! I am so grateful for their generosity. Please take a moment to visit their all these wonderful shops!

And feel free to come to our Silent Auction. There will be free dinner and entertainment!
Visit girlscampfundraiser.blogspot.com for more information

Bucket-O-Fun ~ A New Chore "Chart"

2011-02-21T15:23:00.000-08:00

This is not my idea. Sugardoodle posted a picture of a magazine on facebook that had this idea submitted. I don't remember the name of the magazine and I can't find the post to share. The general idea is to use ping pong balls to write out individual chores for your children and place in a beautiful container to keep on display. Knowing that a display of ping pong balls in my house would quickly become a disaster, and knowing my history of putting off projects until I had everything exactly perfect I decided to do it my way...

Introducing.....

The Bucket-O-Fun!

1. I ordered a gross of ping pong balls from Amazon. I found it was much cheaper to buy 144 balls than a dozen here in town.

2.I used my wonderful new set of colorful Sharpies and started to come up with every possible chore I could think of. Each ball had one chore or task. Some tasks took very little time and some took up to 20 minutes. I even threw some non chores in there to keep it fun, like sing your favorite song, dance for 30 seconds, read a book for 5 minutes, take a 2 minute break or trade chores with someone else.

3. I used the fanciest empty ice cream bucket we owned and tossed all the balls in. It was important that my container have a lid so I would be less likely to spill it.

4. Then I introduced this "fun new game" to the children. I am not even exagerating when I tell you that they LOVED it! The next day I found them playing "the game" on their own!

5. Each child has a container with their name on it to keep their completed task balls. In our case, we used 1 gallon zip lock bags tacked to our bulletin board.

6. The rules to the Bucket-O-Fun game are simple.

-You must do the chore or task on the ball you draw, no peaking.

-Mom has veto power if she feels a child drew a ball that was above their capibilities or wasn't a good chore at the moment.

-Who ever gets the most balls at the end of a designated time period or when the balls are all gone is the winner and gets to have the grand prize. The grand prize is usually just some silly toy or treat I have in my silly toy and treat drawer.

-All balls can be traded in for rewards when all are done. Usually its one ball = one m&m or 2 balls = 1 hershey kiss....or whatever leftover candy is in the freezer.

I don't have the kids play this game every day or they would quickly get bored of it and it wouldn't be as effective. I pull it out every week or so and the kids still love it.

I have MANY balls left over. I keep a few and a sharpie within easy reach so I can add a chore anytime one pops in my head.

Good Luck!

Make that Four

2011-02-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

That stupid dog just got another brand new shoe.
The shoe I just replaced the last pair with.
Only worn one time.

....
....
....
....

FREE DOG

(you don't even have to have a good home, you just need to not like shoes.)

Its been way to long...

2011-01-31T15:10:00.000-08:00

Quick Random Recaps
(or caps, since I never told you in the first place) of the last few months

-Aaron likes his new job. He's gone a lot and when he's home, he's tired.

-Work sent him to Georgia for 3 weeks for training. It was a long 3 weeks. Hard to not have back up, but also easier since I had one less person's laundry to wash and lunches to make.

-He came home on Saturday evening and had to report back to work on Sunday at 6am. I wasn't too pleased with the scheduler. He's on my bad list.

-I photographed a local Jr.College Graduation class this weekend. Its always fun. All the ladies had really cute shoes. It made me want to go back and finish my BS (the graduation, not the shoes). I looked at CSU Stanislaus' website today. The deadline to apply for fall is tomorrow. I don't think I'll make it.

-Both girls had birthdays. Lissy turned 7. Sarah turned 4 ...again.

-I have 3 sessions to edit right not, but I have 3 weeks of TV I need to catch up on. Its a tough decision Aaron took the laptop with him and my computer doesn't have any speakers.

-Someone needs to do dishes. By someone I don't mean me, but it will probably end up being me.

-I bought a dishwasher on craigslist a few months ago. Its still in the garage. No one loves me enough to install it for me.

-Sarah keeps feeding the dog gum.

-The dog has chewed up 3 shoes. All Sarah's. All different pairs.

-I decided that if I ever have another baby girl, her name will be "Jane Marie Michelle Princess Conzuela Banana Hammock Conn"

-If I have a boy, his name will be "Xaiver Conn" so if he ever goes and works with his dad his uniform will say "X. Conn" on the name tag.

-I like peaches. I can't wait for fresh peach season.

-When Aaron was hired he got a nice sign on bonus. We used some of that money to buy new gutters and paint for the house. Then it started raining.

-We sold our big work truck. We used the money we made to buy new windows for the house. Then Aaron left for Georgia.

-I have a pile of paint, gutters, windows and a dishwasher in my garage. My house will be pretty one day....soon.

-The day after Aaron left for Georgia, Lissy broke one of her bedroom windows. Of course it is one of the 3 windows we didn't buy replacements for. It is currently being held together with tape and cardboard. It makes the front of my house look really "classy".

-I read my cousin Linda's blog the other day, I know exactly how she feels.

-I'm having a print sale on my photography blog. It ends today.

-I'm making a really pretty present for my SIL Randi. I want to keep it.

-I'm planning a trip to visit Utah in the spring.

-I'm making a 7 layer bean dip for dinner tonight.

-I like to make Jello in 1 quart mason jars. I don't have to measure anything. Just fill it with about 1 cup hot water and jello. Put the lid on and shake. Fill the rest up with cold water. Put the lid on and shake. Put it in the fridge for tomorrow. Plus it looks kind of cool.

-I've also been thinking about hiring a landscape designer and professional organizer (or not professionals, just someone who is good at it) because I'm not.

-....I think I ran out of random things.

Hoakie Poakie Cuties

2010-11-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

I'm speaking in church today.

2010-11-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

I've been asked to speak in church today with my remarks based on a talk be D. Todd Christoferson from the October 2009 general conference. You can find his talk (much better than mine) here.

The following is what I have written down for my notes. I just thought I would share.

D&C 101: 78 That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral ^aagency which I have given unto him, that every man may be ^baccountable for his own sins in the day of ^cjudgment.

We were all given our agency. We are able to make our own choices, weather good or bad; great or small. We can choose to come to church or stay home and watch the football game, we can choose to pay for an item we want or steal it. We can choose to eat our dessert first or after our meal. We can choose to wear white socks, black socks or even polka dotted socks. All of our choices will have consequences and we will be held accountable for them. While the choice of our sock color won’t hold eternal consequences, many of our choices do.

We talk in Young Womens a lot about making choices and decisions way before the need arrives. For example, if a young woman has made the decision to dress modestly when she’s young, And while shopping finds a very cute, but short skirt or top, its much easier to put it back on the rack if she’s made the decision ahead of time. However, a choice like that can be difficult to talk yourself out of, if that decision hasn’t already been made.

Or, I’m sure, many of you have been offered a drink of coffee or even alchol, at one point in your life. Sometimes I take it for granted that I’ve never really had to think about that response. That choice has been made for years and I never have felt the pressure to appease that person who offered it to me. A simple “No Thank you” has always worked. I can imagine that offering of something that goes against the word of wisdom being a hard choice to make, if you’ve never thought about it before hand.

As many of you know, when asked to give a talk in this ward, we are often given a talk or an article from the ensign from a general authority to base our remarks on. Today, my remarks are based on a talk by D. Todd Christofferson, from the 2009 November Conference Ensign issue. After reading this article, I felt like I could paraphrase it in about 3 sentences.

Behave yourself.
Behave yourself even when its hard.
If you don’t behave yourself, it will affect way more than just yourself.

He talks about Moral Discipline. Moral discipline meaning – self-discipline based on moral standards. “Moral discipline is the consistent exercise of agency to choose the right because it is right, even when it is hard. It rejects the self-absorbed life in favor of developing character worthy of respect and true greatness through Christlike service.”

He also relates a story that was originally told by President James E. Faust

During World War II, President Faust, was a young enlisted man in the United States Army, applied for officer candidate school.
He appeared before a board of inquiry composed of what he described as “hard-bitten career soldier[s].” After a while their questions turned to matters of religion. The final questions were these:
“In times of war should not the moral code be relaxed? Does not the stress of battle justify men in doing things that they would not do when at home under normal situations?”
President Faust relates:
“I recognized that here was a chance perhaps to make some points and look broad-minded. I knew perfectly well that the men who were asking me this question did not live by the standards that I had been taught. The thought flashed through my mind that perhaps I could say that I had my own beliefs but did not wish to impose them on others. But there seemed to flash before my mind the faces of the many people to whom I had taught the law of chastity as a missionary. In the end I simply said, ‘I do not believe there is a double standard of morality.’
“I left the hearing resigned to the fact that [they] would not like the answers I had given … and would surely score me very low. A few days later when the scores were posted, to my astonishment I had passed. I was in the first group taken for officer’s candidate school! …
President Faust recognized that we all possess the God-given gift of moral agency—the right to make choices and the obligation to account for those choices. He also understood and demonstrated that, for positive outcomes, moral agency must be accompanied by moral discipline.

Our society today does not make it easy to promote and respect moral discipline. It has been taught that “truth is relative” and that everyone decides for him or herself what is right. Concepts such as sins and wrong have been deemed merely “value judgements”.   As a consequence, Self discipline has eroded. Our society is left to try and maintain order by complulsion. When individuals lack self control it is left to the government to create laws and maintain control for the safety of the whole.
For example I want you to think about a toddler. Now a toddler, hasn’t yet really learned all about self control or self discipline yet. That is left up to the parent. You’re small child asks for one piece of candy. Harmless, sure, you agree. 5 minutes later, she asks for another, and then another, and then another. If you don’t use your self discipline, and limit the intake of sugar, you will be left with a child who might a little wild, a little crazy and within a little while, her tummy will most likely not feel very good. You will be faced to deal with the consequence of trying to calm a upset child by complulsion, because you HAVE to you have no other choice. While, if you had used self control, and stopped her at 1, even if it was hard to listen to the whining and pleading, in my expericnece that doesn’t last nearly as long as an upset child with an upset stomach.

Even with all of the laws and police, it will never be enough to replace customs, traditions and moral values as a means for regulating human behavior. Teaching right and wrong and making good choices is far better than waiting for someone to make bad choices and then punishing them for it. At best, the police and criminal justice system are the last desperate line of defense for a civilized society.

Moral discipline is learned in the home. While we cannot control what others may or may not do, we can certainly stand with those who demonstrate virtue in their own lives and teach virtue to the youth, weather they are our own children or not.

Here is a story that I’m sure all of the primary kids know.
Remember from Book of Mormon history the young men who were key to the Nephite victory in a long war. The sons of the people of Ammon.   Their land was in danger and their fathers had promised the Lord to never pick up their weapons of war again. Instead of letting their fathers break their sacred promise they chose to go to battle themselves. Their character and discipline were described in these words: These scriptures all come from the book of Alma chapters 53-57.
“They were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.
“Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:20–21).
“Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them” (Alma 56:47).
“Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually” (Alma 57:27).
This is a standard for what should happen in our homes and in the Church. Our teaching should draw upon our own faith and focus instilling faith in God in the rising generation, in OUR CHILDREN. We must make it known that it is essential to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before Him with reverence. Each child or youth must be persuaded that service and sacrifice for the well-being and happiness of others are far superior to making one’s own comfort and possessions the highest priority.
To teach our child to be like these young men, it requires more than just sending them to Sunday school once a week.   It requires more than the occasional reference to one gospel principal or another. There must be CONSTANT teaching, mostly by example.
(Now, a side note. Have you ever heard that the one giving the talk often learns more than those hearing it. Well, if I had to pick the one phrase that I’m sure our Heavenly Father wanted me to hear, that was it. I, as a parent, need to do a better job of constantly teaching my children. If I do not, the consequences will not only lie upon me, but upon my children. If I don’t teach my children the gospel, what is right and wrong and how to use their own moral discipline to make good and righteous choices, it will affect them both temporally and spiritually. I can’t leave that up to others to do for me. Sure others can and should help, but in the end its our responsibility as parents to make sure our children know the truth of the gospel and right from wrong.
President Henry B. Eyring expressed the vision we strive to attain:
“The pure gospel of Jesus Christ must go down into the hearts of [our children] by the power of the Holy Ghost. It will not be enough for them to have had a spiritual witness of the truth and to want good things later. It will not be enough for them to hope for some future cleansing and strengthening. Our aim must be for them to become truly converted to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ while they are with us. …
“Then they will have gained a strength from what they are, not only from what they know. They will become disciples of Christ.”6
I have heard a few parents state that they don’t want to impose the gospel on their children but want them to make up their own minds about what they will believe and follow. They think that in this way they are allowing children to exercise their agency. What they forget is that the intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth, of things as they really are.
D&C 93:24   And ^atruth is ^bknowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;
Without that truth, young people can hardly be expected to understand and evaluate the choices that come before them. Parents should consider how the adversary approaches their children. He and his followers are not promoting objectivity but are vigorous advocates of sin and selfishness.
Trying to be neutral about the gospel is, in reality, to reject the existence of God and His authority. We must, rather, acknowledge Him if we want our children to see life’s choices clearly and be able to think for themselves. They should not have to learn by sad experience that “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10).
As part of a mom’s group I’m a part of, we watched a video of a very popular Christian speaker from another church. Now, I don’t remember what her main focus of her address was. One phrase truly stuck out to me. She was asked by a member in the audiance, “as a mother of teenagers, how do you get your kids to go to church?” She looked at her quizzically and asked, “what do you mean, ‘how do I get my kids to church?’ I PUT THEM IN THE CAR AND I TAKE THEM”    I admire this woman for that.   Our kids, weather they are small or teenagers, or even adults need to know the truth of the gospel before they can decide if they want to make the choice to follow it.
When it is time to teach a specific gospel principal or how to make good choices, “put your kids in the car and take them.” It is that simple We need to teach them what they need to know. We need to teach them the truth of the gospel. We need to teach them of right and wrong and of the consequences
Again “the intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth, of things as they really are.”

Perhaps our moral discipline, if we will cultivate it, will have an influence for good and inspire others to pursue the same course. We may have an impact on future trends and events. At a minimum, moral discipline will be of immense help to us as we deal with whatever stresses and challenges may come in a disintegrating society.

Brothers and sisters, I know our Heavenly Father loves us. He gave us our agency to use. With that agency comes the responsibility to use it wisely. And to teach others, especially our children, that we must use our moral discipline to make our choices, especially when it’s hard.

In the Name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Can I win one of these please?

2010-11-02T12:44:00.001-07:00

If you would like to win one of these awesome bikes, just click the image above and follow the instructions.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

I think Halloween 2010 has been my most favorite ever! The costumes were done on time, which is probably because Sleeping Beauty was purchased by "Big Grandma" last year and Lissy has been waiting all year to wear it and Obi Wan Kanobi (sp?) was purchase at 40% off at Target on Tuesday. $13 was totally worth not having to make another costume this year!. I only had the Nerds costume that needed to be made. Sarah came up with the Nerds costume all on her own, I just had to come up with the "how" part.

We spent Saturday even at our Stake Trunk or Treat party. I've always hated trunk or treating. Something about kids running around in a dark parking lot never really made me feel safe. But our stake starts the party at 5pm when the sun is still out. There was an awesome DJ playing fun kid friendly music that the adults enjoyed too. Nachos, popcorn, hot chocolate and all the candy you could ever want! Batman even taught everyone how to do the dance from Thriller. My kids were adorable!

Because Halloween landed on a Sunday this year we chose not to go Trick or Treating with the kids. We picked up the movie "How to Train your Dragon" on our way home from the party Saturday night and enjoyed that with the kids out in our "theater." We had an early dinner, then locked the house and turned off all the lights. The movie was great and we all had fun!

At the end of the movie some of our really good new friends showed up with Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls! Because they are the best people I know! Thanks Chantelle and Robert!

And now, I am locked in my office, trying NOT to think about all the candy on top of the fridge.

Wish me luck!

3rd Annual Pawliday Portraits

2010-10-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend only!

For all of you who live in or around Tuolumne County this is a great opportunity to help an organization who truly helps hundreds (if not thousands) of animals every year and at the same time get a GREAT family portrait taken!

This year the even will take place the weekend of October 8th and 9th. For only $25 you will get a $60 value of a mini portrait session and an 8x10 print of your choice.

The best part, the Humane Society gets to keep 96% of all session fees!

Call (209)984-5489 to schedule your appointment or drop by the front desk.

Want to see portraits from the last 2 years?

Click HERE

This year's backdrop color will be Navy Blue.

Custom Portrait Session Give Away on Dandelion WIshes

2010-08-31T08:58:00.001-07:00

Want to win a custom portrait session? Check out Dandelion Wishes for your enter and win.

Then stick around and read her blog, I'm pretty sure you'll find it as entertaining as I do!

I Love Restaurant.com

2010-08-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about www.Restaurant.com ? I love it!

Today I bought a $25 gift certificate for $2 for Sweet River Grill in Merced. Usually the certificates are closer to 50% off, but if you google for coupon codes there are always good ones. Like today I used " CLEARANCE " for 80% off.

There aren't a whole lot of choices in my area, but I know in bigger cities there is a huge selection of restaurants to choose from. So, when I'm traveling and I know we'll stop for dinner in a certain place I always check www.restaurant.com first.

My husband and I were just talking about how we REALLY need to go on a date so I thought I'd surprise him with dinner sometime this week, this savings sure made it a lot easier on the wallet!

What's your favorite savings tip for eating out?

My Happy List

2010-08-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

Its been a long time since I last posted. I guess I've kind of been in a funk. It happens. I may not be out of it yet but I remember someone telling me when I'm feeling blue I should count my blessings. So when I read Mamarazzi's Happy List this morning I thought, "Hey, why not?"

So, here it goes. My Happy List
1. My living room wall is blue. My dad hates it. He's never said as much, but he offers to help me paint it every time he comes over. But I LOVE IT! Its the perfect shade of blue. (Now I wished I had painted the other walls a warmer shade of cream, but that's not the point.) I love my blue wall, and one day my bedroom will be "tan-ish".
2. I have high speed internet at home. A very nice installer came the other day, asked me where I wanted it installed and then he went to work. An hour later I was uploading a 1900MB file in under 30 minutes. It makes my job so much easier.
3. My husband is getting a new job. I can't go into all the details, but its good, really really good.
4. I have wonderful councilors. I'm the Young Women's President at church. I'm in charge of the 12-18 year old Young Women and I have two of the best councilors ever. We cleaned out our closet this week and with out them I wouldn't have been able to throw anything away. And there was lots of stuff to throw away.
5. I bought mini bagels last night at Target. I love mini bagels toasted with some butter. Mmmmm, best breakfast all week!
6. I know what the upcoming giveaway is on www.ourdandelionwishes.com and its a good one. I love knowing secrets!
7. I bought all the ingredients to make Alfajores. Dulce de leche isn't cheap. I think I'll try and find out how to make it next time.
8. Its Saturday and the neighbor kid didn't ring my door bell at 6:45am to see if the kids were ready for school.

My house is so quiet

2010-07-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

One of my children left home at 4am yesterday because he wanted to go to work with his dad. Somehow he managed to get stolen by his cousins and grandmother. He is being returned in about an hour by Aaron's sister.

Its amazing how the absence of just one child can make our home a completely different place. It was quiet. There was no arguing. And no one slammed any doors. I'm not saying all of those things are generally his fault. The last time my middle child was gone for the day the same thing occurred.

I miss him but I'm not sure if I'm ready for him to come home. Maybe when they leave a different child will go with them....maybe. One can only hope.

Southern California ( a post stolen from my sister)

2010-06-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Julie wrote about her trip to Newport Beach on her blog last week. Since we pretty much did the same thing, I'm just going to copy her post.

I went down to Newport Beach with my family last weekend. My parents and I spent a week there Friday to Friday and my sister (thats me)and her family joined us Friday to Wednesday. After getting there we all decided to go to Disneyland for a day (Aaron and I had our free "give a day- get a day" passes). We were waiting outside the gate when it opened and left right before the park closed. We ran around all day. It was nice that we went in October and got most of it done so we could now see what we missed and take our time without running too much.

To save some time and money, we packed lunch and dinner and ate in the parking lot. (I made chicken salad and croisants for lunch and taco salad for dinner. Both were extra yummy.)

We got fast passes for the rides we could get fast passes for so we wouldn't have to wait too long in lines. One line that took A LOT longer than we expected and were planning was the Nemo submarine ride. This was mostly because the audio on the submarine we were first put in wasn't working so they then had to unload us and reload us. Because of this, they gave a free fast pass/head of the line pass so we used it on Space Mountain at the end of the night. We had fun, but Andrew and Lissy looked a little unsure.

The day after Disneyland, we were so tired, we slept until we woke up. Of course, the kids woke up at a somewhat normal time for them. We sat around quite a bit and some of us decided to walk down to the local beach. We found some cool rocks to look at and some tide pools to explore. (This is where a squirrel tried to steal Sarah's cracker. I've never seen one get as close as this one did. I had to run at it with a shoe to scare it off, but it kept inching forward.)

After my sister went home, my parents and I went down to Desert Hot Springs to visit my dad's aunt. It was really hot. (We missed this part.)

The day after we got back into town, my nephew, Andrew, was baptized. He had asked me to speak about baptism which was an easier topic than my talk in sacrament meeting a few weeks ago. (Julie did an awesome job on her talk. So did my mother on her's. So many family members came to join us on this special day, it was great!)

Our cousins came into town for the day so we went to the Castle Air Museum and walked around all of the planes and jets. Yet again, another hot day. (VERY HOT!)

Cookie Dough!

2010-05-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

Some very special Young Women need your help to raise money for Girls Camp.

If you live in or around the Atwater, CA area you should definitely visit this site

www.CampCookieDough.blogspot.com

Who Likes Jewelry?

2010-04-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ginny Lynn Jewelry is a new Handcrafted Beaded Jewelry company ran by one of my favorite cousins. All of her pieced "are crafted with the finest crystals and gemstones." She has many designs that are already made and in stock as well as the ability to offer custom designs and alterations.

"Our biggest goal is to create beautiful handmade jewelry at a very affordable price, to meet the needs of the everyday woman (or man) at a price that won't break your budget! "
I was pleasantly shocked at how affordable her prices were. My favorite piece, "The Lacey Pendant" (shown above) is only $9!

I don't have pierced ears but if I did I would be buying myself a set of "Melissa" earrings today! I won't even tell you how good a deal these are, you wouldn't believe it if I told you. I wonder if she can do clip ons?
(edited: I just asked her, and YES! She can do clip ons! I know, I'm probably the only one excited, but Yipee for my new ear embellishments!)

She has a pieces for men too! Check out "The Matthew" necklace. There are a couple of guys in my life that I could totally picture this on.

So go check out www.GinnyLynnJewelry.com today. Tell her I sent you!

My only question is, where is the "Diane" necklace?

Sarah

2010-04-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

Mr. Wilson!

2010-04-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

We have new neighbors. Mr. & Mrs. Wilson are in the process of moving in. The other night I was telling Aaron, my husband, how funny I thought it would be if our kids always addressed our new neighbor as "Mr. Willllllssssssoooonnnnn!" a la Dennis the Menace style. Apparently my kids heard this because guess what I heard coming from our front yard today as they pulled into their driveway.

"Hey Mr. Wiiiillllllsssoooon!!!"

I didn't know if I should be embaressed by their lack of inhibition or grateful that are addressing their elders as "Mr.Wilson" instead of "Hey You"

Please Ignore this Post

2010-03-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

I want the @goldapplephotos & La Pomme Design / lapommedesign.com Goldapple Photography Premier Marketing Kit – visit paperieboutique.com!

Win the @designaglow / designaglow.com Studio Look Book – visit Paperie Boutique / paperieboutique.com by @shutterblog to find out how!

I want to win this. You can take a look too, but you don't really want to. Really, you don't need to.
(if you do, and you win....you don't really want it, so just send it my way. It's because I'm so nice that I'll take it off your hands.)

Calories Don't Stick on Sundays

2010-03-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

I have it on good authority that I should feel no guilt in eating chocolate chip cookies today for 2 reasons.
1.I walked home from church today, about 2 miles. It was a nice day and apparently my husband never turned his ringer back on after church so I couldn't call him to come and get me from my meeting anyway.
2.Calories don't stick on Sundays. Its true, Pam says so.

Anonymous Comments

2010-03-10T15:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome to all of you that I apparently offended by speaking my mind. While my comment came off as "condesending and annoying" that was never my intention. I did not comment in the spirit of contention or malace, I was just bringing up a different point of view.
I kind of had the feeling that my comment would not be the popular idea on that blog but I chose to use my real google identy instead of hiding behind an anonymous comment.
So, feel free to leave a comment on how terrible you think I am, I'll add it to my "very important file."

My First Blog Award!

2010-03-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

I won my very first blog award today! Jami over at The Schoettler Family is the one who made me day! Thanks Jami!

Rules:

List 7 interesting Facts about myself

Then pass it on..

1. I've been married 10 years to a wonderful guy who works way too hard.
2. I like to bake, sew, paint, glue & photograph stuff.

3. I shoot babies. ( I also shoot families, weddings, teenagers and children.)
4. When I was 7 years old I roller skated in a wheel barrel full of water. I broke my arm AFTER I got out and trip on the hose.

5. My husband says I make the best apple pie in the whole world and I don't even like apple pie all that much. (And he isn't just being nice, he never lies about food. He lets me know when something I make is yucky!)

6. I lived in the same house from the time I was born until the time I was married. In the 10 years we've been married, we've moved 9 times.
7. We bought a house last spring. The plan is to stay here for at least 7 more years! It will take us at least that long to finish all the projects.

•Hamlie- Julie is awesome! And I'm not even being biased because she is my sister. This girl has her head on straight! (She is single, so if any of you know any nice single men you can send thier applications straight to me!)

•320 Sycamore - One of the first blogs I ever found and I'm still going back for more.

•Make It & Love It always has a cute craft or project that I MUST do on a daily basis.

•Flowers and Frills & Puppy Dog Tails- Pam is one beautiful lady!

•I’ll be adding more when I get back to my laptop!

2010's Valentines ( Just a little late)

2010-02-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

I know Valentine's Day was a few weeks ago, but I thought I would share what we did for Valentine's this year. I got the kids ready for church an hour early sometime in January and drug them all down to the studio.

I had each child draw a picture and sign their name on a piece of paper folded in half length wise.

I then turned all of their pictures into these adorable bookmarks, put thier hand drawn pictures on the backs and had them professionally printed.

I love them! And its a good thing because I ordered too many. I will never be without a bookmark again!

(This one I didn't order because I wanted them all to match, but I still like this one too.)

I have a secret blog

2010-02-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

Thats right. I have a secret blog. A little while back, maybe a year or so ago, I was having a really tough time with a few things. I needed a place to vent. I needed a place to tell the universe that I was angry, sad, hurting, confused and probably just very hormonal. I did not want to talk about these things with someone who knew me or my family. I didn't want to say something that I truly meant in the moment but not 5 minutes later when I calmed down. I could have written it in a diary or journal, but I wanted to tell someone. So I created a secret blog.

I created a fake email, fake name, fake profile and created a secret blog. I wrote a very dramatic blog entry. I posted it for the world to see. Then I signed out and cleared my browser history. And now, I don't remember my fake email, name, profile or blog address. I couldn't find my fake blog if I wanted to. I don't even remember what I wrote about mostly. But it made me feel better.

Update

2010-01-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

Random Updates to appease my family:

-Andrew started an after school reading program to help him catch up to his classmates. He's still a math genious. The other day he came home offended because he now has to do an extra math page a day for homework because everyone else in the class "just doesn't get it yet, but I DO".

-Lissy has been getting into trouble at school this last week. I don't know whats up with her, but she's talking and being disruptive in class, being slow to obey & giving silly answers to questions she already knows. We had an impromptu meeting with her teacher the other day and we have a few plans in place for next week. I'm hoping things will improve.

-Sarah loves to do the dishes. Little Grandma made me and the girls matching aprons for Christmas. So whenever Sarah sees me start to do the dishes, she pushes up her stool, puts on her apron and "helps". Its more fun to do a boring chore when you have a cute little "helper" by myside.

-Aaron still works way more than he should. Things are looking better as of this week.

-I'm completely booked for fund raisers in the month of March. Everytime I do that I'm exhausted by the end of the all. I keep reminding myself that I said I wouldn't do that again and then remembering that I really do enjoy it so being that tired is really worth it all.

-My cousin just called me. She is getting married in a few months and wants me to photograph the wedding. I'm looking forward to a trip to Utah. Staying at Julie's house is like a little mini retreat, only better because Julie is there. We stay up way too late and eat way too much.

-I went to a party last night. I loved seeing my best friend. She bought me rootbeer because she loves me. She might drive to Vegas with me because she's cool like that.

-I made some really cute tiles for our Young Women in the ward. It has the 2010 Youth theme on it which is: “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9). I really like this scripture. I'll post pictures soon.

-My feet are cold.

-I made Rosemary Rolls last night. I put in too much flour so they were a little tough, but they still tasted good. I might try them again.

-The house across the street from me is for sale. The agent says it will be listed for about $74,000. I really want to buy it so I can control who moves in, but no tengo dinero. So, if you're nice, you should buy it.

-The Merced Art Hop is tonight in downtown Merced. I get to photograph the event. It should be fun. You should go.

Valentine Mini Sessions

2010-01-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

More Info at http://www.dianeconnphotography.blogspot.com/

Giveaway: Free Valentine Mini Session for the first person to tell me the secret word of the day!

Does anyone else suffer from...

2009-10-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

...the "I can totally make that" disease? You know, when you see something really cute in a store, at a craft fair or online. Like this....

(over at the Creative Crate)

or this...

(Crate Liners over at Ucreate)

or this....

(pettiskirts over at Martha Stewart)

and you say, "I totally love that, what a great idea, it's amazing....but I can totally make that!" So you don't buy it, and you go home with the full intent of making it THIS WEEKEND...and sometimes you even buy all the stuff you need....and 4 years later its still sitting in your craft closet or in a box?

Yeah, I do.

Maybe we should start a support group. Let's start it....this weekend! I'll go buy all the stuff!

Portrait Fund Raiser

2009-09-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

Sweet & Sour Chicken

2009-09-18T08:15:00.001-07:00

I was telling a friend of mine the other day that I can't get any Chinese food in Atwater. I can get all the great Mexican food I want, but no fried rice or chowmein. She on the other hand, living in the bay area is just the opposite. Great Chinese, no Mexican. It made us miss Modesto for about 5 seconds. Then we got over that.

Then, I found this recipe for Sweet & Sour Chicken. It was rated 4.7 out of 5. So I gave it a try. We made it last night for dinner and it was AWESOME! Served over rice, it was just what I had been craving.

Aaron also made some seasame seed lime chicken stirfry too. It was good too...but he doesn't remember what he put in it. Sorry.

and the Second Winner is....

2009-09-18T08:05:00.000-07:00

Jami Schoettler !

I was a little dissappointed that I didn't get more entries into my giveaway. This morning I found out that Jami had commented, but her comment didn't appear. So, I decided to let her win too, because that's how I roll!

Jami contact me to schedule your appointment.

P.S. Julie...you can win too if you want, but you have to bring cookies.

Times Up!

2009-09-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

I didn't bother to do a drawing. I didn't even flip a coin. I made an executive decision.

Congratulations Laura!

Email me to schedule your appointment.

FYI-Hamlie is my sister. She gets all the free photo shoots she wants. So don't feel too bad for her.

Give Away Time

2009-09-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

OK, enough with yard sale already! Because y'all had to sit through that for over a week I'm going to host an awesome giveaway. That's right, a give away! (I know, I'm not from the south but this is my blog and I reserve the right to use the word y'all whenever I please).

Diane Conn has been photographing children and families for over 10 years. She started when she was only 19 years old. (Can I stop talking in third person now?) While I do photograph weddings, events, seniors & family reunions, I specialize in children and family portraits. I love being able to capture in photographs the little & big personalities that come with every child. No mug shots or cheesy grins for me.

So today, I am giving away one custom portrait session with Diane Conn Photography and a 11x14 wall portrait to one lucky winner.

Also, from now until September 30, 2009, if you mention this blog post when calling to schedule your appointment, you'll receive a free wallet accordion album at your next session. That's a $65 value!

You will have 3 ways to enter this giveaway, don't worry, they are all pretty easy.

1. Enter a comment below telling me something cute your kids did this week (if your kids are in their 30's and stopped doing cute stuff a long time ago, just make something up). Don't forget to add your contact information.

2. Post about this giveaway on your blog, twitter account, local forum or facebook. Just link back here and come back and leave me another comment with a link to your post. (one entry for each post, that's a possible 4 extra entries.)

3. Cold call 30 people out of the Merced County phone book and let them know about my giveaway. Bonus if they have cute kids!...Ha Ha Ha....no seriously, do it! Alright, you probably shouldn't do it. How about becoming a fan on my facebook page instead. Click HERE then come back and leave a comment letting me know that you're a fan.

The give away will be open for entries until Wednesday, September 16th. 11:59pm PST.

Session will take place in our Atwater Studio or on location within 30 miles of the studio. If you would like a session outside of that area travel fees will apply. A special discount might be applied if you have me travel somewhere cool, like Hawaii, or Florida or....Provo!

http://www.connphotography.com/
http://www.dianeconnphotography.blogspot.com/

Updated Stuff For Sale

2009-08-31T10:37:00.001-07:00

Someone should come buy some stuff, so I don't have to put it back in the garage.

One New Full matress & boxspring set - $100

2 twin sized New box springs - $20 each

Double jogging stroller ( you know you want it) - $45

A three piece SOLID WOOD dresser, mirror & night stand....we were asking $395, but would entertain all offers (hint hint)

Disneyland Yard Sale

2009-08-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

I know, you all just got really excited. You are probably trying to come up with ways to run down to Anaheim and pick up a set of giant tea cups and maybe a spinning wheel in the back of your mini van. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but its not actually Disneyland that is having a yard sale, it is us. You see our truck broke last week and Tinkerbell did NOT come and wave her magic wand over it to fix it. We had to tap into our vacation fund so that we could get to work and stuff.

We've been planning a pretty cool trip for a while now, and I'd rather not cancel it. So, we are having a yard sale. The goal is to make 3 billion dollars so we can take you all with us. A thousand will get us by but you'll have to buy your own tickets.

We have alot of baby stuff like a high chair, some toddler clothes & toys. A double stroller too.

We have beautiful barely used 3 piece bedroom set. It comes with a dresser, mirror and night stand. We bought it for my parents, who decided they liked thier old one better so we took it back.

We have several matteresses and box springs. Most are new, some are used. (we used to own a mattress store)So, if you're in Atwater this weekend, stop by and buy some of our stuff. Email me if you need directions or an address. Or if you want anything that I've mentioned but don't want to wait until Saturday, please email me and I can "hook you up".

Daddy Dollars ~ The new chore bribe

2009-08-21T17:07:00.001-07:00

It may take me a few days to get the system of chore dollar value & what prizes they can earn, but I'm hoping it will motivate them to find thier floors.We've been using a point system, which worked for a little while, but I think it was kind of confusing for the girls. I think having something tangible to hold on to will help.

After they've earned enough dollars, they can spend them at the Mommy Store every Saturday. Its fill with junk, I mean treasures from the dollar store and knick knacks from that I've collected. I've heard of some families putting activities to earn in their store. Activities like video games, family outings, TV privilidges.

I'll let you know how it works out.

You can make your own dollers, rupples, pesos, etcs at www.festisite.com/money

Back to School Photo Tips

2009-08-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

My kids started school last week. My daughter only made it one day before getting sick and she wasn't even faking it! Being the organized mother that I am, I didn't get a chance to take pictures before school. (It might have had something to do with the emergency trip to CVS to pick up cold medicine.) I did however get one shot of my daughter after school. (See the post below) Isn't she cute?

I thought it would be a good time to share a few tips on how to take some good back to school pictures .

-Get your children to stand in some open shade. Under a tree or awning, next to the house or right inside your doorway are usually great spots.

-Do NOT line your kids up in front of a wall, it makes it look like they are lined up in front of a wall. If the wall line up is your only option try having them sit or stand a few feet away to create some dimension. Standing in a doorway or sitting on steps are a great idea.

-Get down to your child(ren)'s level. Unless your kid is one of those teens who out grew you over the summer try sitting or squatting down. It will give you a better perspective on how big your kids actually are.

-Add some props. If your kids ride their bikes to school, try taking their pictures while standing next to or riding their bikes. If they are bus riders, take their picture at the bus stop.

-Get creative. Have fun. And don't stress out. If you don't get great first day back to school pictures, there's always second day back to school pictures! (In my case, third day back to school pictures or as soon as both kids feel better and are back to school pictures.)

Lissy's First Day of Kindergarden

2009-08-16T13:56:00.001-07:00

Royalty Free Music

2009-08-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

Stock20.com creates high quality music for media production. If you create a free account using my referral link, they will give you one free song.

Here's how:

Click this link, then create a free account (it takes about a minute):

http://www.stock20.com/gvr.php?rc=65xl2nv13533asd5v2x

Note: Stock20.com will not share, sell, or abuse your personal information.

Raspberry Lime Layered Jello

2009-07-25T14:45:00.001-07:00

Ignore the half missing plate...I didn't have time to take pictures of my gorgeous presentation before company arrived. I was just lucky to have a few left over at all.
This was so good! I made these little goodies for dinner the other night. I was inspired by Adventures of a Food Slut who used eight different layers to make her rainbow jello. I didn't have the time or more than four flavors in the pantry, so I stuck with just two.

I highly recommend trying this sometime soon!

Not the AFTER pictures I promised...

2009-07-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

I know I promised you after pictures, but I can't find the card. Its really not that big of a deal. I can take more pictures, that just requires me to have a clean bathroom for about 5 minutes in a row....and that just hasn't happened lately!

*Edited to add to Homebody's Thrift store Thursday.

So, instead I'll post my latest Goodwill treasures.

My total for the trip :$17 even.

Guess how much I paid for the Bumbo chair...$3! I don't even need a Bumbo! I bought it knowing that my friend Karen might want it & if not, I could sell it on ebay. (She does, so I can cross one birthday gift off the list.)

The black & white thing is a skirt. Its for my sister. There's always cute stuff in her size, which can be a bummer when looking for stuff for myself. But atleast thats two birthday's crossed off!(Julie & Karen, just act suprised, k?)

My Bathroom - The BEFORE

2009-07-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'm going to tease you a bit, just a little bit. Not because I like to make you wait, but because I forgot my memory card with the after pictures! So, after pictures will come tomorrow. Until then, take a look at the before pictures of our "new" bathroom. Now, I hope you're sitting down, because the following images are NOT pretty.

Bathroom window, not terribly awful, other than the fact that it leaked and the window casing (that was suppose to be repaired before we bought it) was rotting away.

Awesome mirror and medicine cabinet. Aaron was the only one tall enough to look in the mirror. Have you noticed our pretty green tile yet?

Doesn't this picture make you want to jump right in and take a soak in the tub?

By the way, its hard to see, but the edge of the vanity actually is sitting on the side of the tub. I've never seen that before.

The linoleum wasn't bad. There was some water damage to the floor, so the sellers were required to fix the floor before escrow would close. If any of you ever need to replace a floor like a professional, here's how you do it.

1) rip up existing linoleum.

2) cut out the bad parts of the boards, but only the bad parts.

3)replace them with scraps of wood and lay a sheet of whatever wood you have laying around on top.

4)not level? that's OK. Just pour on a gallon of level quick.

5) place down some nice linoleum...but heaven forbid you glue it down. Just use double sided sticky tape around the edges and call it good.

See, even a complete moron could do it...in fact, I think one did!

This is the only problem we haven't been able to solve. We're thinking about putting in a bi fold door for the bathroom. Anyone have any suggestions? At least this way I'm almost guaranteed that my children will shut the door when using the facilities.

Come back tomorrow to see the 94% completed bathroom!

My Nose Hurts

2009-07-11T11:49:00.000-07:00

The air is so dry here in Atwater. Today, my nose is so dry that no amount of moisturizer is easing the pain. My skin screams at me daily to take it somewhere moist.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for a really GOOD moisturizer? What about a cleanser that doesn't dry out my already dehydrated face?

Family Portrait At Last ~ Even if its only one!

2009-06-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah's bangs aren't all the way back & Lissy isn't looiking at the camera, but 4 out of 5 are looking at the camera...and that ain't bad! Aaron only smiled because I told him this one counted as our one family picture this year. Maybe next year I will hire a professional instead of handing uncle Mikey my camera.

No Family Pictures for Us This Week!

2009-04-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

I was pretty ticked off a few weeks ago when Aaron brought Andrew home from the barber with a MOHAWK! I wasn't happy with his style choice, but especially because we had family pictures planned for the following week. (To be fair to Aaron, he didn't know that little piece of information.) So I postponed portraits a few weeks. He's starting to look like a normal kid again and...

...look what Sarah decided to do! ALL of her bangs are GONE! Completely GONE! I guess pictures will just have to wait....again.
I wonder what Lissy will do in a few weeks?

Happy st. Patricks Day

2009-03-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

Do you know what happens at my house when I just want to take one nice snap shot of my 3 beautiful children?
They pose.

And make goofy, silly, cheesy grins.

Until I get frustrated and tell them to just look at me and smile.

And it still doesn't work.

Do you know how frustrating that is to a children's portrait photographer?

Very!

Its been 4 weeks?!?!!

2009-03-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted anything for 4 weeks! I'm such a slacker!..

Speaking of slackers, have you ever been to www.slacker.com its a free online radio station. Its great, you can choose a playlist based on what you want to listen to, from country to Christmas. My favorite features are being able to skip songs that I don't like that much and I can block songs I don't ever want to hear again!

Snow Fun!

2009-02-19T09:31:00.001-08:00

We were visiting some good friends earlier this week & my girls found a nice patch of snow in the front yard that had not melted yet.

Andrew was smart enough to stay inside, where it was warm and dry.

Pay it Forward

2009-02-17T08:57:00.000-08:00

The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a handmade gift from me during this year. When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch though...Post this same thing on your own blog and then come back and leave a comment telling me you're in. Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift!

Sisters Are Nice

2009-01-16T11:45:00.001-08:00

I was out side taking a few quick pictures for my etsy shop and the girls wanted a turn. So I let my "ragamuffin" children have a seat. My girls are little "posers." Its hard to get a natural smile out of either one of them, but we had fun trying.

New Back Pack

2009-01-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to share this for a while. When school started this last fall, I couldn't find a decent backpack for a resonable price. Thats when I decided to just make my son's backpack myself.

I took these black cordoroy pants that my husband hasn't worn in at least 6 years and started cutting. I wish I had taken pictures as I went along, but didn't think about it aat the time.

I used one of the legs as the main part and the fly as the zipper to the smaller pocket. I made straps and flap from the other leg. I covered the inside of the flap with orange and blue fabric. Andrew drew out the design he wanted and picked his favorite colors.

And here's the finished product. If I were to do it again, I would use a nice snap instead of velcro.

Christmas Eve in San Francisco

2009-01-07T12:32:00.000-08:00

Every year, except when I'm pregnant or sick, we venture into "the city" on Christmas Eve. It is Aaron's favorite family traditions. His family has been going for many years. Now, I usually drag my feet to get there, because going means missing out on my family's annual Christmas Eve traditions and forfeiting my place in the chocolate line, but I always have fun once we are there.

This year, we made our first stop in Ghiridelli Square. We went in to have their world famous Hot Fudge Sundae. We were NOT disappointed. We ordered the brownie sundae and a hot chocolate to share. That was, by far, the best dessert I've had in a long time.

We made our way down to Pier 39. On the way, we stop at a few art galleries and a barely missed the Maritime museum by 1 minute! We let the kids play on the giant anchor for a little while.

The name of the bread company escapes me right now, but there was a beautiful old building with a bakery. It had a full glass window, where we could watch the bakers shape the dough into crabs, lobsters, snowmen, and even a giant alligator! I got in trouble with my grand father the next day. Apparently I was suppose to pick up a loaf or two of sour dough bread, but I didn't get the memo.

We made our annual hat and glove purchase at Baby GAP. The kids all got to pick a pair of gloves, Sarah's gloves came with a matching hat.

Over at Pier 39, we had a nice dinner at Sweet Louie's. It was good, but I can never enjoy a meal when I know I'm spending that much money on it (shhhh...don't tell Aaron, he quite enjoyed it.) I don't usually let me kids play under the table, but I could tell Sarah was close to reaching her limits. The table cloth went all the way to the floor and she was quite, so I let her be.

Overall, it was a nice family trip. I'm glad I went, even if I dragged my feet all the way to the car.

Scharffen Berger Chocolate

2009-01-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

Have you heard about Scharffen Berger Chocolate? Its really good, especially if you like dark chocolate (I don't particularly care for dark chocolate, but this stuff is good). A while back, I found out that thier plant in Berkley gives out free tours. So, after visiting the Oakland Temple, I suprised Aaron with a little trip.

We had a great time. He said he was truely suprised, which I can't do very often.

Next time you're in the California Bay Area, check it out.

Look what I made!

2008-12-20T14:02:00.001-08:00

I found the directions for this snowflake at hotmamahouse. Its about 16 inches across, so its pretty big, for a snowflake. It was pretty easy, only took about 20 minutes.

So, if you're bored and have an extra 6 pieces of paper just laying around, check it out!

Christmas Tag

2008-12-15T09:07:00.000-08:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I prefer wrapping paper unless the gift is odd shaped...Tearing paper is so much more satisfing than just opening a bag.

2. Real tree or artificial tree? Artificial all the way! (can't stand the smell of a real tree in the house)

3. When do you put up your tree? sometime before Christmas

4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as I get around to it...

5. Do you like eggnog? No Way!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? hmmm...lots of random gifts keep popping in my head. One year my cousin Melissa bought me a curling iron. I felt so grown up, that I had my very own. I remember the year we got the Nintendo. I wasn't that excited about the gift itself, just that I figured out what it was before we opened it, even though it was the last thing we expected from OUR parents.m Peaches and Cream Barbi was a good one. I remeber a gift box with Snow White on the outside. I don't remember what was in it, just thew wrapping, so appartly apperances do matter (that one was from Aunt Jessica). Birthday and Christmas presents seem to merge together in my mind, so I'm not sure which occasion I recieved this next one...I had stolen my mom's necklace! Ok I borrowed a necklace from her that she got when she was 16. I wore it ALL of the time, even though it was missing some stones. Then it just dissapeared. That year I unwrapped my mom's necklace, that had been cleaned, repaired and put on a new chain. To this day, it is still one of my very favority pieces.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My brother in law...if he would just hurry up and find my sister, maybe I'd might find out what he is interested in!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have two- one is Aaron's from his childhood and one was a gift from my mother on my birthday last year.

10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? I like to receive mail.

11. Favorite Christmas movie? White Christmas

12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? December 26th. I am always on the lookout for a good gift!

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yeah. It was a birthday present (Dec 5th). It was a very nice set of bath oils and sprays and salts and stuff. It was very pretty, but when I was talking to a friend one day, she had mentioned that she was on her way to do some shopping for a family. The single mom had just lost her job, and they weren't going to have a Christmas that year. She also mentioned that the mom loved bath stuff, I new she would appreciate it more than me. So off it went!

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My sister and cousin both mentioned our moms' english toffee. Its good stuff and I love to eat it too, but I look forward to my single piece of milk chocolate covered carmel in the See's box. (see #25)

15. Lights on the tree? Either one. I grew up with colored lights, but my husband is a racist, so its white lights only. (ok that was TOTALLY a joke! Please don't believe what you read! he does prefer white lights though and he's not a racist.)

16. Favorite Christmas song? I love them all! I do like, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" probably because its not one we hear all the time.

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? HOME!

18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes I can, and it is DonDer not DonNer! That is my biggest pet peeve! There is a Target commercial playing right now with a kid saying all of the reindeer's names and it drives me nuts! I yell at the TV everytime!

19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel

20. Do you open Presents Christmas eve or Christmas day? Christmas Day.

21. The most annoying thing about this time of year? Not enough hours in the day. Too many families to visit Christmas day and not enough time for a nap.

22. Favorite ornament theme and color? I don't have a favorite theme, I do a traditional country style tree. I do appreciate the pretty trees that have a theme or color, they just don't fit in my home. I need a place to hang my construction paper poinsettias and styrafoam snowman!

23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We used to do a turkey or ham with all of the fixings. I miss that. I miss the ranch with the huge living room that we all ate together in THE SAME ROOM, and went back for as many plates of 2nd or 3rds as we wanted. Then Melissa, Janet, Pam and Julie and I got to do ALL of the dishes...good times, good times!

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? A house....and a studio.

25. Favorite Christmas tradition? Every Christmas Eve, we pull out the box of See's Candy. (nuts and chews only please) We all get ONE piece starting with the oldest in the room and going down to the youngest. You will never see a line form more quickly and "gracefully". Its almost like a dance...with a little bit of bicker and yelling, but its all in good fun. If anyone in the family starts dating a new someone special, the first questions is always "How old is he/she"? For many years, I was ALWAYS the last piece of the top layer, which means, no choices for me. Then Janet got married, and I got the first piece on the 2nd layer. That was the best Christmas eve ever! Thank you Lawrence!

And I tag...Steven and Jen Morris and Monica....and Martha Stewart ...and Oprah ...and Rachael Ray ...and David Letterman....and Jay Leno....and Santa Claus ...and.....The Tooth Fairy.

Product Photography

2008-11-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

I added product photography to my list of service this week. I noticed a lot of etsy shops have some great items for sale, but they were not photographed to show them off the best way possible.

I already have an order to photograph some pacifier clips. You know, those ingenious little inventions that clip the binkie to your child's shirt, so you won't loose it! I am in need of some models. I need baby girls, infant to 18 months-ish. You would receive a FREE mini session in exchange for a few shots of your daughter with a pacifier. You are then welcome to purchase any prints you wish, with or without binkie. It's your choice!

If you are interested and available in the very near future (as soon as they arrive in the mail, I'll need to photograph them right away) please let me know. I have a phone, and email address and a comment section, all of them work pretty good!

Also, if you're interested in your children being models for other types of clothing in the future, just let me know. I'll put you in my model file and I'll contact you if I need you.

(Oh and if your in the market for an awesome caterer, I can get you the hook up. Those desserts were AMAZING!)

Christmas Barter ~ 2008

2008-11-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

I know, I had this idea a little late in the season, but there is still plenty of time. Right? I decided this year to make everyone's Christmas present, with the exception of a few gifts I had already purchased (sorry Julie). I know, what a great idea! Its cheaper and more personal! But here is the problem...I don't have that many ideas and talents!

This is where you come in! I know many of my readers are pretty crafty or they have their own little shops. If you have something that you think I might be interested in, let me know. You can post a comment or sent me an email. I kind of have a "want list" over on my other blog http://www.dianeconnphotography.blogspot.com/ I'll be trading my photography services and products for your services and/or products.

I'm located in Modesto, CA and I'm in Sonora ALL the time. And I'm willing to travel if the offer is right.

Halloween ~ 2008

2008-10-30T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorow is Halloween! My kids costumes are all ready and we attended our first Halloween party last night. Andrew was Spiderman. We had Grandpa draw really cool spider webs on his face so he didn't have to wear a mask. Lissy was a very pretty witch with scary eye brows. And little Sarah was a lady bug. I wipped out a little black plaid jumper (from fabric Grandma has had in her fabric stash for over 20 years) for her in "little less-a-half-a-hour". Not to shabby if I do say so myself!

Etsy.com

2008-10-29T11:11:00.001-07:00

I've been swamped with work lately. I decided to take a short break from editing and window shop over at my new favorite website http://www.etsy.com/ I just wanted to share a few of my finds today.

One...Two...Three...FOUR!

2008-10-07T10:37:00.000-07:00

Yet another tag:
Four jobs I’ve had:
*shelf stocker/cashier at family owned thrift shop
*I don't remember my title, but I was the assistant to the zone manager at the local newspaper.
*mommy
*photographer

Four movies I can watch over and over:
*Music and Lyrics
*Jane Eyre- Masterpiece Theathre
*You've Got Mail
*Anne of Green Gables series, but only if I have time to watch all 6 hours.

Four places I’ve lived:
*With my parents in Modesto
*Fresno
*Sonora
*With my own family in Modesto

Four TV shows I love:
*Grey's Anatomny
*Ugly Betty
*House
*Bones

Four places I’ve vacationed:
*Sandy Ego
*Yellowstone
*Karen's House
*Lake Shasta

Four of my favorite dishes: (just four?!?!)
*Anything Aaron makes - he rocks the BBQ!
*Lasagna
*Chocolate Dork
*Blackberry cobbler

Four sites I visit daily:
*Facebook
*one thousand words
*www.CCandCS.etsy.com
*www.thepioneerwoman.com

Four places I would rather be right now:
*In my own home.
*I've wanted to go hang out at the mall recently. I had to run in for a job a little whil back, and I wanted to just stay and browse. I just brought back so many mall memories! Christa? Karen? Julie? You up for some shopping and Sbarros?
*Julie's house.
*In my own studio

Tag Four People:
EVERYONE!
I know, everyone is WAY more than four, but I just don't feel like putting anyone on the spot. So if you want to participate, go right ahead!

Another Cool Blog

2008-10-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

Right now they are even giving away a really nice dress!

Are you a Good Dad?

2008-10-03T12:24:00.001-07:00

My Favorite Shot So Far

2008-10-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

I just started editing my cousin Emily's wedding from a week ago. Its always a pleasant surprise to see that I caught a moment I wasn't even aware of at the time!

This was taken as she walked out the front door and everyone saw her for the first time. Look at her smile! She's gorgeous! And what makes this picture perfect? That's her dad in the background. His face says it all!

I'll post more as I edit.

How do I add one of those neat templetes?

2008-09-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

Come on, share the good stuff. How do I make my blog as cute and user friendly as all of the cute blogs I've come across in the last few days?

I've started blog hopping

2008-09-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Recently I started looking at more and more blogs. I keep finding more blogs than I can keep up with and some I can't even find again!

Here's today's neat blog find.

Lissy's Tag

2008-09-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

1. What is something mom always says to you?"Ummm...clean up your bedroom"

2. What makes mom happy?"When I do clean up my bedroom

3. What makes mom sad?"Don't clean up my bedroom

4. How does your mom make you laugh?"makes silly faces"

5. What was your mom like as a child?"I don't know"

6. How old is your mom?"6"

7. How tall is your mom?"5"

8. What is her favorite thing to do? "work"

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? "take pictures"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?"a good artist"

11. What is your mom really good at?"taking pictures"

12. What is your mom not very good at?"ummm....ummm...ummmm..when my daddy says 'get me some clothes' and you don't do it."

13. What does your mom do for her job?"take pictures"

14. What is your mom's favorite food?"tacos"

15. What makes you proud of your mom? "helping me know what to do"

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?"winnie the pooh"

17. What do you and your mom do together?"play games"

18. How are you and your mom the same?"we have the same blue eyes"

19. How are you and your mom different?"we don't have the same hair"

20. How do you know your mom loves you?"She makes nice things for me"

Now- Lissy is tagging Teagan, and Josh & Anna's daughters (A & EJ)

Scattergories!

2008-09-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

SCATTERGORIES. ..it's harder than it looks! Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things.. nothing made up! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

What is your name Diane
BOYS NAME: Dan
4 LETTER WORD: Done
GIRL NAME: Dani
OCCUPATION: District Attorney
A COLOR: Dark Green
AN ANIMAL: Dog
BEVERAGE: Daqiri (so not spelled correctly)
FOOD: Doritos
SOMETHING FOUND IN A BATHROOM: Dirty Clothes
A PLACE : Denver
REASON FOR BEING LATE: Diaper Blowout!
SOMETHING YOU SHOUT OUT: DAMN!
A PLANT: Dianthus

www.thirtyhandmanddays.blogspot.com

2008-09-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

I found a great new site a few days ago. Well, I don't think its new to them, just new to me! Its a great place to go for your crafting inspiration and to find new awesome crafty places to shop.
Check it out, you won't be dissappointed.

http://www.thirtyhandmanddays.blogspot.com

Baby gift for Andrew's teacher

2008-08-24T08:22:00.001-07:00

My favorite post as requested by
Talk to Me Tuesday from TipJunkie.com

This is the baby gift we made for one of Andrew's kindergarden teachers last school year. She didn't know if she was having a boy or a girl, so we went with green & yellow. I think it is one of the prettiest I've made in a long time!

Memories!

2008-08-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

I left a memory on someone else's page so I guess that means I need to post this on mine. Feel free to participate if you wish. Here are the directions: 1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! 2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

The start of Carrot Sticks and Cupcakes

2008-06-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

While driving in the car with my children, after a very hectic week of grown up meetings and two parties, the kids asked why they could never go to parties like me. They were not liking the idea that grown ups could stay up past their bedtime and play with their friends, but they had to go to bed and "NEVER" got to go to parties. I, being a good mother, asked them if they would like to have a party. They became very excited and started listing off all of the friends they wished to invite, which was all of their friends. Andrew asked with we could have carrot sticks at our party and Lissy jumped in with an excited, "AND CUPCAKES!?'"

So there it was. We would have a party with ALL of our friends and serve carrot sticks and cupcakes. Truth be told, be never did have the party, life got busy and it just didn't happen. Maybe one day we'll get around to it. Until then, enjoy the blog!