Photo Collaboration Project

A great photographer and friend of mine, Cherron (www.raininglightphotos.com) have teamed up for a 52 week project this year.  I am so excited b/c one of my goals this year is to shoot more for MYSELF and my love of creating images and not 100% for client work.  This project is perfect b/c it forces me to think outside the box and get really funky and creative.  I'm  having so much fun with it!

Week 1:  Childhood
From the get-go, I had an image in my mind of what I was going to shoot - Brooklyn's Barbies all strewn out in front of her Dream House.  B/c when I think of my childhood, it was LITTERED with Barbies.  Seriously - littered.  And I did take those images, but they just weren't what I envisioned in my head. 

As I was sitting on the floor of our family room, I glanced across the hall into Jake's room and caught a glimpse of his Bear Bear.

Boom!  Lightning bolt!  Who doesn't have a special teddy bear or other stuffed animal growing up?  I had a manatee from Gulf World in Florida that I slept with until Rob gave me the "it's him or me" ultimatum.  

  I love Cherron's artwork idea!!!

Week 2: Fruit

As some of you might know, the second week of January 2011 wasn't easy for me.  My grandfather passed away unexpectedly one day before his 82 birthday - on MY birthday.  We were out of the country on a cruise celebrating my 30th.  And couldn't get back in the country right away.  It was excruciating not being able to be there for my grandmother.  Thankfully, we made it back in time for the visitation and funeral, and then we stayed with my grandmother for a few days just to keep her company. 

When I got back home, I had NO groceries in the house!  (Brooklyn said it was like we were homeless - I said, "Brooklyn, homeless people don't have a home - we have a home."  To which she replies, "Well, we are just really poor b/c we have no food."  Nice observation, B.) 

So,  no groceries - other than some week and a half old apples. 

This week's assignment is CUP.  Gonna be a toughie . . .

Someone LOVES the new laundry room . . .

And I couldn't post a pic of one fur baby w/o the other:

Randy

Randy is the newest member of our family - he'll have his own post a little later.
(for all the photogs reading - this image was taken at iso 4000!  I kind of have a love/hate relationship with my 5DMii - this would be the LOVE part!)

Sometimes he sleeps . . .

and it's the most beautiful sight. EVER.

It isn't hard for me to remember the days when my almost 3 ("I'M FOUR, MAMAAAAAAAA!!!") year old terror sweet son was a tiny infant.  I think I remember collages of days as opposed to single moments - having a 2.5 year old and a new baby, I was in such a haze that everything ran together for about the first year.  (don't judge - i was just tryin' to survive). 

Jake has always been a cuddler - he still is.  As I type this, his elbow is digging into my rib cage b/c he is smooshed against me as we sit in a recliner made for one (and one with a butt much smaller than mine, I might add).  As a baby, he loved being held - and as he got older, his favorite spot was (again) smooshed up against me on the couch.  He learned to hug at a very early age and would just squeeze my neck.  He would pat my back whenever I was carrying him - talk about making your heart swell.

Anyhoo, (I'm a rambler, you know . . .) nothing takes me back to those sweet baby days better than watching him sleep.  He's so beautiful it takes my breath away . . .

He sleeps, and I forget his frequent tantrums and craziness.  And I remember.  I remember holding him in the hospital for the first time - this baby of mine who was a complete oops surprise to his Daddy and I.  I remember all of those sweet moments awake in the middle of the night for nursing - just Jake and Mommy.  I remember cuddling with him just last week while he rubbed my face and said, "Mama, I wuv uuu."

When he sleeps, I remember. 

My Very First (almost) Done-In-A-Day Project

I am so excited to share this post with you!!! 

Let me preface it by saying, that a domestic goddess I am NOT.  I don't enjoy cooking (even though The Hubs says I'm good at it . . . ).  I despise the clean-up afterward.  Which leads me into how I hate cleaning.  I think I'm allergic to it - every time I clean, I sneeze.  (The Hubs will tell you that it's b/c of the extreme amount of dust I am stirring up . . .)  I don't see the fun in organizing stuff. 

Ok, are you getting the picture, yet?

Come to my house anytime prior to 2011 today, and you'll see a big ole bunch of mess.  You might run into dirty dishes, piles of laundry - it's prob clean, but you know it hasn't been put up, a floor that needs to be swept AGAIN for the 3rd time that day, etc.  Really - there's no telling what you'll see - but chances are that you WON'T see a spotless house.  And, well, we're all friends here, right?  Let me be honest - you still won't find that immaculate house at Latimer Land.  But what you will find is a girl trying to keep things together the best she can while her two hellions angels destroy it as fast they can. 

Enter Mission 2011 Turn Around.  It's my goal this year to get every room of my home organized.  And finally decorated - I'm tired of the mix-match stuff we've had since college.  I've found an amazing blog that I am so inspired by:  House of Smiths.  This girl is so talented when it comes to DIY home projects.  I have at least half a dozen of her ideas on my to-do list.  The hanging flower balls for B's room, the flower headbands, the canvas frame (can't WAIT for this one!), the pantry make-over (do I even dare????) . . . the list goes on and on. 

The one that really caught my eye was her laundry room makeover.  I honestly think before reading her post that I never even considered the laundry room to be a room that you would decorate.  But she made it look SO GOOD.  I just had to give my own dark and dismal beast of a laundry room an overhaul. 

And . . .

I did it in ONE day.  Yep - 4 hours tops and I only spent $132 total.  It's a tiny space, but now it feels so homey! Pretty good I'd say for a room that had NOTHING in it . . . other than cobwebs and dust bunnies. 

And a whole lotta dirty laundry -










As you can so clearly see, I had LOTS of cleaning to do. Oddly enough, it didn't take that long. I did end up with 4 trash bags full of junk though.

A clean, but bare laundry room:

yes, my cat's name is Zyrtec - I'm allergic. (see, i'm so funny . . . )





And the reason why it's an (almost) Done in A Day project instead of a Done in A Day project is that The Hubs has to paint for me over the weekend. It's gonna be so yummy!


And for the BIG REVEAL:












So, there she is - my NEW and wayyyyy IMPROVED laundry room. I love it. love it. love it. And I hope you do too! Stay tuned for the final After pictures once the room is painted.

Let me end by saying if I can do this ANYONE ANYONE ANYONE can do this too. Remember? Not a domestic goddess talkin' to ya.

Welcome to Latimer Land

Hello and Welcome to Latimer Land!

(catchy title, huh?  (i use to teach 5th grade, baby!) - and Latimer Land - that's an example of alliteration.  don't worry if you didn't know that - i didn't until i had to teach it . . . )

I'm Heather (Latimer if you haven't picked up on that yet) - wife of 7.5 years to Rob and mom to Brooklyn, 5.5, and Jake, so close to 3 we might as well just say he's 3.  But if you ask him - he's 4.  And he's been 4 for about a year now.  For Jake's bday party next weekend, we're inviting everyone to his First 4th Bday Party.  Who needs to be three anyways?

I'm a stay-at-home, work-from-home, read-LOTS-of-books-from-home mama to two of the coolest kiddos on the block.  Seriously - they are some kind of funny.

I own my own photography biz (Frogs and Faeries) that specializes in newborn and family portraits.  I LOVE it - almost every single minute of it (i mean, let's be real - even dream jobs have their moments).  I love it so much that it doesn't take much for me to cross the line into obsession with it.  Some days it's all I think about - i eat, sleep, breathe it.  I'm fortunate to have a successful, growing business.  I know this.  I also know that my kiddos are only going to be this small for a very short amount of time.  My daughter is already just about too big for me to carry her.  My son doesn't call me Mommy anymore.  I can work for the rest of my life - I can't get back moments I missed b/c I was too busy at the computer while my kiddos played Toy Story 3 Yahtzee in another room; or watched another episode of Yo Gabba Gabba; or played He-Man and She-Ra for hours (yes, my kids have discovered this classic cartoon from my youth - don't judge - we live in the South).  I CANNOT get those moments back.  Once the are gone, they are GONE.

So with this in mind, The Hubs and I decided that I would really scale back on the business side of things, only take on a select number of clients each month, and really focus on what matters - OUR FAMILY.


BY. FAR. THE. BEST. DECISION. WE. HAVE. EVER. MADE.

Just ask my mother-in-law.

Now, I have time to cook meals each night (sorry kids - no more McDonalds) AND do the dishes afterwards.  I have time to do the laundry AND put it up (crazy, i know).  I have time sit in the floor with my babies and read them books or give them horsey rides (sorry, knees) or have a Movie Night with un-microwave popcorn (what the heck is that called?  you know - you pop it in a pan with a crank under the lid - the real kernels with oil?  drawing a blank here).

I just have TIME and it is a breath of fresh air.

So without much more rambling, I have (one more time) time to devote to a family blog and not just my biz blog.  I am super excited to start this endeavor.  And in all honesty, there no telling what you're gonna read on here.  I'm not shy.  I don't embarrass easily.  (hopefully my kiddos and The Hubs doesn't either)

So, sit back and enjoy the show . . .

Heather