Flowers for Mom

Thinking my husband had let Mother's Day scoot by he came back with a very large bouquet with a mix of flowers. Of course the girls wanted their share (and their petals ended up all over the floor in their room) and the flowers were quickly moved to the counter from the table (out of small fingers reach), but the beauty and the magnificent smell is more than worth hiding them on the counter. They are there and they are beautiful. Thank you honey!

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Take a look at Theme Thursday for more Mom inspired photos.

Tuesday: A Little of This, A Little of That

Easter egg decorating, cupcakes, baskets, Easter egg hunts oh my. We had a wonderful weekend. The weather was fairly decent (around 50-60 degrees) so we actually got to go outdoors and run around. It really was a wonderful time. Not only were the kids sleepy, but the mommies, the daddies and the Grandma and Grandpa's too! Please enjoy a few of my captures for today. 

Shutter Love: Easter

Hmmm....where might the next Easter egg be hiding. Hannah really can please a crowd. We all would stop and stare at her adorable gestures. She is just priceless.

Simplicity: Pets

Meet Bones. If you have yet to see or hear about our dog he really is a great guy. He is a rescued dog and we love him. We have had him for almost 10 years now and our girls enjoy dressing him in necklaces, hats, crowns, shoes (you name it) and telling him what to do. He is either following them around or hiding from them. You might also find him sneaking snacks from the kids.

Touch Up Tuesday:

Original

Edit:

I still like the original capture, but I wanted to lighten the shot up a bit because of the shadows on their faces. I think it brightened maybe a smidgen too much. What do you think?

Sweet Shot

This shot is from late last week and I just love how Lorelei is genuinely happy. Her hair is a mess because we have been playing and running in the yard and she is simply happy. I usually capture the "cheese" smile from Miss Lorelei.

Perceptive Perspective: Macro

"Bubbles, bubbles on my nose. Bubbles, bubbles on toes. Bubbles, bubbles float on top. Bubbles, bubbles pop, pop, pop." A loosely based quote from a book all about Elmo.

Also, because Bubbles and My Family make me very 

HAPPY

Oh, the sweet joys of childhood and mama hood, and daddy hood. Heck we all enjoy bubbles.

Don't forget to check out Communal Global to see what is going on all around the world. There truly are some beautiful photography that has to be seen. Enjoy!

Shutter Love: Blue

I'm guilty. I haven't been taking a lot of photos lately so I archived this one. Not only because of the lack of captures, but because the blue in this photo is perfect. Well, I like it. I hope you do to! Thank you for taking a peek. 

It's Just Me

Oh, for the love of self portraits. I set out to take a photo of myself. Yep, that's it. Just me. I'm a little shy when the attention is on me and I know it so I use "props." I figure, If I post my kids on here I should be able to post a shot of myself. It only seems logical. I hope this counts as a "self portrait."

Shutter Love Tuesday for Self Portrait

Flowers Abound

My jealousy got the best of me. What I mean to say is that Spring has not sprang nor have any flowers so we went out and bought some! Oh, you should have seen the joy on my beautiful girls faces when they saw those flowers coming through the door. Lorelei immediately burst into a beautiful smile running with her arms wide "Can I hold them?! Can I smell them?! Flowers! You got flowers!" I have a few shares for you today and let me tell you it was not easy picking these too share. Especially the last shot. It was easy to pick shots of my girls, but the capture of a flower. How do I know what is best? I've got nothin' when it comes to the eye for flowers. I hope you like them!

Paper Heart Camera: Touch Up Tuesday

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After:

Let's see if I remember. I warmed it up, I lightened and brightened in Picasa and then blurred the background as well as adjusted the curves in GIMP. I'm sure I didn't need to do all of that, but I did. (I'm still trying to decide where I like editing the most.)

Trendy Treehouse: Hands

Oh my goodness. There were so many adorable captures to choose from, but I enjoy Lorelei's delicate nature in this photograph.

Simplicity: Flowers/Leaves

My 3Boybarians: Sweet Shot

Perceptive Perspective: Photographer's Choice

I chose this shot in the end because I enjoy the fact that the tiny leaves are what's in focus. I felt very overwhelmed by all of the colors and options of what to photograph and this capture seems to be a bit more calm and simple.

Also, linking up to...

Leigh Vs. Laundry

Communal Global

What do you think? 
Make sure to click on the links and maybe even link up too!

A Loving Lorelei + Super Laughing, Giggly Hannah

Todays captures are really about that cheesy saying you may have heard (or is it more of a mantra?) "Live, Laugh, Love." Well, we're certainly living. That's for sure, Miss Hannah is definitely laughing and Miss Lorelei is definitely showing off some love. I hope you like my captures. Please enjoy.

Shutter Love: Hearts

Lorelei came running up to me to show me that her dolls hands put together make a heart. "Quick mom! take a picture." I love how this shot shows how creative, loving and smart my beautiful daughter is.

Happiness Project:

Hannah and I were chasing each other around the house and she would tag me and I would tickle her. We were having a wonderful time and I even captured some of her super laughs! I hope you like it.

Today I am linking this up my first shot at
Trendy Treehouse's Shutter Love Tuesday for Hearts and linking up with
Leigh vs. Laundry for The Happiness Project because my girls certainly make me happy.

Grandma Zumi's Cookies with a Twist

Okay, so my family and I went down to see more family over the weekend and the girls Grandma Zumi made these awesome home made cookies that the girls can't get enough of. This same Grandma sent home these amazing cookies that the girls still want to eat at all hours. I bake, but not necessarily from scratch. Can you see me squinting in a way when I say "not necessarily." That means...nope. I don't bake from scratch. That's a secret so don't tell anyone! Anyhoo. I noticed Shutter Love Tuesdays blog hop for "COOKIES" and immediately thought "Grandma Zumi."

So here I am sitting on the floor like some kind of doink trying to discover a great angle and light for a shot of cookies. How do you do this? I don't know?

Here I am breaking cookies to get crumbs on the plate and trying to get some kind of creative thought out of my brain and in walks my husband. Actually sitting near me on the computer laughing at me while informing me to use a different lens and tripod (no one likes a no it all mister). Alas my cookie shot is born. He has a great idea! (Yes, you heard me right. He was right and funny too!)

Although I ended up enjoying my cookie shots this is just too funny and cute to pass up:

MY PICK:

A Trendy Treehouse Touch Up: Watering the Garden

Hannah patiently awaits for her watering can to be filled back up. Lorelei and Hannah were watering Grandma's garden and themselves at that. I had fun with this edit and really tried playing with the curves. Can I say how much I love that tool! I also saturated the color and changed the hue and of course brightened the photo. I also can't edit without adding contrast. I hope you like this edit and capture! I'm also using this for the Trendy Treehouse: Shutter Love Tuesday for Babies. Is Hannah still considered a baby? (Hannah at 16 months.) 

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For more Trendy Treehouse Shutter Love Tuesday shots of babies and Touch Ups please click their button below and have fun!

Shutter Love Tuesday: Pumpkins

Hannah amongst the pumpkins deep in thought. It was so cold she mostly stood still and watched the others. She occasionally looked around for the other kids, but was mostly content to be still. I later found out from my husband that he did in fact give her an orange pacifier on purpose. I'm bias, but I think she's super cute.

Also, I'd like to say that I have a lot coming up and I'm stealing a moment while the girls have an early lunch to type up stuff right now. I've been a busy and tired momma and I still want to share so much with you. Here's hoping I have/take that chance. I've also just received a new book in the mail so I started that last night.

For more pumpkin shots please check out some more Shutter Love Tuesday posts by clicking here. Thanks for your patience with me and I hope you liked my calm and cold Hannah amidst the pumpkins.