thank you subaru commercial...

thank you subaru commercial for introducing me to the genius that is sean hayes....

makes me want to grab my man and slow dance in the dark...

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{project 365} days 23-30...a little out of order.

{day 24}

ava's hair. i love the way it smells. the way it shines in the sun. i was looking at how long it was getting while we were eating dinner and had to take a picture.

{day 23}

ava ready for her annual trip to the rodeo and stock show with nonna, kristi, and her cousins maddy and sydney! they always have a blast....& no moms allowed :( best mother in law in.the.world!

{day 25}
laundry...yes, it was ten o'clock and i needed a photo...this is my life after the kids go to bed.

{day 26}

hollis in his new kicks, courtesy of the always fabulous CSN stores! love those chubby little legs!

{day 28}

ava and eli {my sweet friend vickie's adorable nephew}. new friends. i love how children can meet and instantly become friends, invite each other into the other's life and just be happy. so refreshing and sweet!

{day 29}

ava's favorite toys right now...her my little pony happy meal toys. and yes, i am that mom that will drive through and buy only the toy because we are after a certain one. what can i say $1.50 for a toy that makes her world go round. not a problem for me.

{day 30}

sweet dreams sweet boy. love your bunny, love your musical seahorse. all the items you keep close when it's time for night night.

so thinking i should rename this "around the house" because it seems i always end up missing a day or two and as much as i love photographing outside, i seem to snap mostly inside. honestly, i was just glad to get a few snapshots this week...it has warmed up again and my allergies have been raging. i spent three days with a seriously evil sinus headache, so we didn't do much that was "picture worthy" this week. i do feel like a bad mommy because we went to the stock show on saturday and i didn't take the camera. it is so huge. i need to get a point and shoot for those types of outings. my mom had hers so hopefully i can get some shots off of it to share. it was hollis' first rodeo, you know!

weight loss update...for those of you still reading my ramblings...

i am down 6 pounds and it feels really good. i am actually going to go to a weight watchers meeting tomorrow & sign up so i can get the books, etc. i think it will really help keep me on track if i have the materials in hand to look at. and that sweet tooth just keeps coming on strong. it's a sickness really. but, i've been doing this for three weeks now, so i'm averaging two pounds a week...that's okay with me. my goal for feb. is to *try* getting in some exercise, too! thanks so much for cheering me on! it is definitely a battle every day!

xo,

a

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{project 365} days 17-22

sticking to it! even though we had that little hiccup last week, missing a day or two, i got myself right back on track and really love catching a moment each day. i am reminded how much i love snapshots, not everything has to be perfect. just special moments that i will want to remember, even if they aren't technically perfection!

{day 17}

not thrilled to wake up from a nice afternoon nap just to have the camera in his face. he is such a happy boy when he wakes up from his nap. he plays games with me like he wants me to pick him up and then he throws himself on his turtle pillow pet, with the "uh-uh". smiles and giggles. this was most definitely not our usually post nap routine :) i do love the monkey music in the crib...it has been a favorite of both ava and hollis...that may be one thing i hang onto and keep forever.
{day 18}
ava and uncle mike playing princesses, ponies, cars, dalmations, & chipmunks! we adore uncle mike and aunt delores and are always excited when they visit in the winter! they have to get away from that minnesota cold and it always warms our hearts to see them and reconnect!

{day 19}

hello, squirrel.

{day 20}

cleaning. i was cleaning, the kids wanted to join in...why the hell not?! clean those windows with those baby wipes! ha! they loved it...they definitely do not take after me!

{ day 21}

my cowboy. he got this horsie for christmas from nanny and pawpaw. both the kids love it!

{day 22}

quick snap from a shoot on saturday with an old friend. i love that photography has reunited me with so many people from my past. allowing us a bit of time to catch up and see what they have done the past several years. meet their amazing husbands and play with their sweet and beautiful children.

so that was our week :)

xo,

a

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goodbye 2.5

goodbye 2.5

so, my first official week of weight watchers done!!! i am following the weight watchers program but not going to weight watchers. is that cheating? i just really don't want to have to spend the $13 a week to have someone weigh me...i mean, i can do that, right? my mom is doing the whole program, so i am getting my resources from her and it is going really well. i definitely don't feel deprived, but writing down everything i put in my mouth definitely gave me a reality check about how much i was eating before...too much. i really didn't think i was eating too much, but with small ones running around and constantly fixing food and snacks, i definitely created a snacking habit that i've had to get under control. i'm still working on it and i definitely still have a sweet tooth that rears it's ugly head now and then. the nice thing is, is that i can eat it { a little of it anyway } and move on. no guilt. no feeling mad at myself. i know it's going to come off slow, but that's okay with me for now. i know i am doing something good for myself. i know i am making a change and am already feeling so much better about myself. crazy. hopefully i will get really inspired to add in some good old exercise, i know that would help shed the weight a bit quicker. but until then, this is working. THIS.IS.WORKING!!!

so goodbye 2.5 pounds i lost this week...i hope i never see you again. :)

xo,

a

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CSN Stores

If you haven't discovered the wonderful selection at CSN Stores, you should definitely head over and check them out! They have over 200 online stores where you can find everything and anything from stylish handbags, Herman Miller Chairs, great cookware, and even fabulous children's products!

I fell in love with these Herman Miller chairs the second I spotted them at All Modern! They are so clean and crisp! I could see them brightening up our house sitting all around our dining room table! I would even love to have one or two to use during photo sessions! They are so elegantly simple, pretty much perfection!

Finding one place where I can find everything I need makes me so happy; household items, kids stuff, fun stuff, gifts; EVERYTHING! It simplifies my life! With two small children, the less running around, the better! The kids definitely don't last long on shopping trips, so late night CSN Stores shopping is right up my alley, so much fun, and totally enjoyable!

Head over to CSN Stores and take a look around. Be prepared to fall in love!

xo,

amanda

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newborn love.

6 days old. precious little guy.

gavin: little falcon

beautiful mama.

this is my first newborn shoot where parents wanted in on the action! i love that they did. it adds a whole new depth to a newborn shoot. they were both glowing, you could feel the love for this new little person in their lives just radiating from them.

i just think he is beautiful. such a perfect boy.

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project 365 {days 9-14}

okay, so pictures are all out of order and i've been up editing a session all evening, so i haven't had a chance to get day 15 ready and day 11...well, i have no clue where it is. also, i didn't get a photo today because, well, i left my camera at home while we were out running around. i chose to be able to enjoy my ava without watching through a tiny square snapping pictures. we went to a fun birthday party at chuck e cheese for her friend jonathan. he turned six. i still remember when he was born. crazy how fast time flies.

anyway, here are some shots from around our house and our lives this week! {i'll add a few when i find them...lord, this is harder than i thought...but i'm gonna keep it up! my 365 may turn into a 52...as in one photo to represent each week during the year. we'll see...i'm not ready to throw in the towel yet...i mean, it's only day 16!}

{day 13} it was late and i needed a picture...so my new favorite toy :)
{day 12} okay, i had to document this, as it NEVER happens around our house. my children are the type that have to be in there bed to fall asleep. falling asleep in high chairs just doesn't happen...so this was crazy to me! poor guy must have been really tired.

{ day 9} scrub a dub dub.


{day 10} 5 days old and such a beautiful boy.

{day 14} out at the carter's with the baby cow and all the pretty horses.

weight loss update coming tomorrow!

a

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cute baby cow.

we spent the morning out with some dear friends. they have adopted a baby cow that they have to bottle feed twice a day, so being the animal lovers we are, we headed out to meet "jack daniels" and feed him! and yes...it was a bit chilly!

little man checking out the horses.
meet "jack daniels"...however, he is actually a "she", so i think the name should be changed to jackie-o...but she's not my baby cow.

ava, ready to feed jackie-o with the bottle of hollis' dreams :) seriously, he was after it!

so, little miss jackie wasn't very hungry since she had eaten a bit earlier...but it was worth a try and ava loved every second. hollis was a bit frozen, not with fear, just watching and taking it all in. {and maybe a bit chilly, too}

ava catching up with some of her best friends. seriously, she loves them and has given each one a special name. yep, she likes to change animals names to ones she likes better...wonder who she gets that adorable trait from?!

he was so excited to see the horses.

it was such a fun morning and definitely nice to get out of the house and into the county for a little while. love you carter's, you make us feel like family.

xo,

a

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project 365 {day 8&9}

and without further delay...day 8 & 9!

{day 9} SNOW!!!! barely, but it was here! it didn't stick, and only lasted about 45 minutes, but it did snow!! {too bad hollis was napping so he missed the whole flurry :( }
{day 8} my friend lori's beautiful baby boy. almost a month old already!

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365 {days 3-9}

okay, so the photos loaded up backwards and blogger is giving me such a hard time right now that i'm only posting 3-7...seriously, i've been at this for a good 45 minutes and all i really want to do is go snuggle with my husband who is all warm and cuddly on the couch! i'll add 8 & 9 tomorrow, or whenever blogger decides to quit being so crabby!

{day 7} dreamy sunset

{day 6} ava reading a new chuggington book before bed!

{day 5} ava after ballet/tap class

{day 4} what's on my needles right now...scarf for my sweet friend, vickie!

{day 3} hollis and his oreo face :)

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light

where there is much light, the shadow is deep.

~johann wolfgang von goethe

{ava. from project 365, day 5}

when the days get dark, you are brighter than the sunshine itself.

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losing it...

sooooo...once again i am going to try, REALLY, REALLY TRY to lose this extra weight hanging around...soooo, every monday i am going to post an update on how things are going, pounds lost that week, etc...i am in high hopes that this time next year {hopefully by thie summer}, i'll be one hot mama :) thanks for the support friends!
Goal: 40 pounds
staarrrrtttiinnnnnggggggg NOW!

see you next week for a GREAT update!!!!
xo,
a

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project 365

i have decided to give a project 365 a go...again! why not! a photo a day for 365 days! i think it will be amazing to see a photo from every day of our year, so hopefully i can keep up! i may just post every week at the end of the week...sunday sounds good :) so here are my first two...

day 1:

{ava's barbies riding in the stroller}

day 2:

{a friend...baby coming tuesday!!! prayers for a safe and quick delivery!}
happy snapping my lovelies!
be back in a week with my seven photos! hold me to it, k?!
xoxo
a

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