Damon's Christmas Present -- 10x20 Storyboard

My husband, Damon, never checks this site so I should be safe in showing off his present. I hope. This was a total last-minute decision, so I'm thrilled I was able to get it in time. I so love that ProDPI moved to Denver! This is a 10x20 storyboard mounted on styrene and printed on metallic paper. I matched the background colors to their shirts. It's too bad the metallicness in the paper doesn't photograph well because it is GORGEOUS!




Emma checking herself out (she's on the right). :)

My Favorite Holiday Cookies ---No Bake Something or Other

Now for something a little different! The Curvy Girls fun recipe exchange finally got me motivated to do some baking. With illnesses, photo shoots, Abby's birthday, and our anniversary, I've had zero energy to do anything more than the bare minimum around here. At least I got all my shopping done! :)

Now about the cookies. They're called No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, or something like that. If anyone knows a shorter name for them, I'd love to hear it! When I was a kid, I'd spend a week at my grandparents a couple times a year. My Gumma was addicted to recipes, cookbooks, and cooking shows. And this was before the internet, and even the Food Network! I'm so showing my age here, aren't I? Because of her recipe obsession, I have no idea where this recipe actually came from, but it's so good! To keep me busy while visiting, we always did some sort of baking--or no-baking, in this case--and these were my absolute favorite cookies. They're quick, they're easy enough for my childhood self to do most of the work, and they're fantastic. When I got older and moved out of my mom's house, I asked my Gumma for a bunch of my old favorite recipes, and this was the first one I asked for. Now, I'm so fortunate to share this recipe and make keep the tradition going with my own girls. Two of my helpers:




No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
(seriously, anyone have a shorter name?)

1/3 C. Peanut Butter
3 C. Quick-Cooking Oats (NOT Old Fashioned)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 stick butter (her recipe was so old it calls for Oleo!)
1/2 C. Milk
1/3 C. Cocoa
2 C. Sugar (plain old granulated sugar)

In a big bowl, mix the peanut butter, oats, and vanilla, and set aside. It doesn't have to be mixed together evenly, just throw everything in the bowl and call it good.

Hi!


Lay out a bunch of wax paper on your counter for spooning out the "dough" later. You'll want all this stuff done ahead of time because it sets really quickly as soon as it starts to cool.

In a saucepan, add the rest of the ingredients and cook over medium-low heat.



You want it to get to a hard boil and stay there for a good couple minutes.



It helps if you have some cute child labor handy you can outsource the stirring to because it's pretty boring. Getting the mixture to a hard boil is probably the most time-consuming part of the whole recipe. This is when we learned that Abby, my oldest, is now too tall to stand on a chair to stir. Sniff! Time to get out the stepstool.



Scolding her sisters who wanted on the chair with her. :)




I've never owned a candy thermometer, so I always do the cold water, soft ball test. Pour a little in a cup of cold water and move it around. If you can grab it and form a soft ball, it's ready. I'm about 6,800ft above sea level, so I've learned the hard way to not quite go that cooked with it or they end up dry and crumbly. If you're not up high like me, you'll want a soft ball. I have no idea what temperature that would be with a candy thermometer, but I'd love to know if you do!

This is what it looks like when it's NOT ready. My help got bored and disappeared at this point, so I wasn't able to get a soft ball picture. And mine wasn't quite there yet anyway so it wasn't pretty.



3. Once you're cooked stuff is ready, you'll need to move fast! Dump the hot stuff in the bowl with the oat mixture and stir it until it's all combined well. As soon as it's done, spoon it out onto your wax paper. Again, you need to work quickly because it sets as soon as it cools. And it cools fast! By the time you're done spooning it all out and get all your cookie-making dishes washed, they'll be set enough to eat. Yum!

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag!

My husband went way above and beyond for our 7th wedding anniversary! A Kelly Moore "b-hobo" was the only thing on my Christmas wishlist this year, so I'd been dropping subtle hints (read: emailing him the link constantly) for weeks. Looks like he got the hint and decided to surprise me with it for our anniversary instead! He probably wanted to shut me up that much earlier. ;)

I am so in love with this camera bag! This is the mustard color (and only one currently in stock), and it'll be the perfect splash of color against my mostly black (and jeans) wardrobe. The first thing I did was remove the purse strap and attached the longer cross-body strap. I'm planning on using it as my everyday purse, so I need to be hands-free with my two year-old twins in tow. The padding feels comfortable and the bag sits snugly against my body. That was probably the biggest reason I wanted the hobo over the gorgeous epiphanie bags. While I LOVE the colors and styles (especially Lola), I worried they would be too wide for daily use.

The hobo is the perfect size for me. It holds my xti with tamron 28-75 2.8 attached and I still have plenty of room for my purse/diaper bag stuff. My twins are old enough now that I no longer need a big diaper bag. As long as I can throw a couple diapers, a package of wipes, and a snack or two, I'm set. This bag holds all that and my wallet/keys/purse stuff with plenty of room to spare! I love the phone pockets on the sides too. I do wish it was just a wee bit longer because the very top of my iphone sticks out just a tad, but it does feel very secure in there. I'm talking maybe a millimeter here, so in the grand scheme, it's not that big a deal.



Front of the bag with the flap pulled back.



Back



Inside. My camera goes in the empty spot on the right. :)



I LOVE the purple lining!






Happy anniversary, Damon! Thank you for the most amazing, life-changing 7 years! I can't wait to see what the future brings for us. I love you!

My Girls

A few weeks ago, ok more like almost two months ago, we headed to the park during one of those perfect fall days where the air is crisp but not cold and the trees still have most of their leaves (with plenty on the ground to play with). I was determined to get a perfect Christmas card picture with all three girls looking at the camera and smiling serenely. Uh huh. This is our Christmas card picture this year:



I also wanted some "sisterly" shots of Abby with each of the twins (and the twins together if I could get it, but that didn't happen). Cora adores her big sister, so those two together were pretty easy. According to Cora, the sun rises and sets because of Abby. If Abby has it, Cora wants it. NOW. She's Abby's shadow and president of her fanclub!



Cora calls this her "pretty face." :D


Emma, on the other hand, much prefers to do her own thing. She was fighting to get away here.


Don't want to blow raspberries on that belly? I know I do!




Nailing Cora down once she started playing around was tough!

B Family -- Colorado Springs Family Photographer

Sara was another fellow Moms in Motion member a few years ago. Thanks to the magic of Facebook, we've been able to keep in touch even though we don't see each other that often. Sara's husband is currently deployed so she wanted to surprise him with some great images of herself and their son, Preston, for Christmas. I can't wait to hear his reaction!

What perfect weather for a photoshoot! It was a little chilly, but nothing like you'd expect to see in winter in Colorado. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day to be outside at Fox Run Park.

How adorable is Preston! I just love his freckles.

First Letter to Santa-- November Greeblepix Contest

This month's Greeblepix contest theme is thankfulness. I'm thankful my kids still believe in magic, and they have taught me to believe again. This time in their lives lasts for such a short time, so I hope we have created wonderful memories for them to look back on when they grow up. This is the first year Abby is old enough to write her own letter (with me spelling out most words). I can't wait to see her face when she gets a return letter from Santa!

2010 Holiday Cards --Colorado Springs Family Photographer

This year has certainly flown by! It's hard to believe Christmas is right around the corner. I've already started thinking about Christmas cards!

These cards are 5x7 flat press-printed cards. I will print them in ProDPI's gorgeous matte paper, or you can also get them in glossy to give them more of a photograph feel. For a truly luxurious card, pearl paper is also available for an additional fee. It will have a soft, well, pearly, shimmer. These are just a few samples of what I have to offer, so contact me if you're interested in booking a holiday session with me! Spots are limited!