The Spirit of Giving

I am so excited to be able to join in the spirit of giving this year. I am teaming up with Giving is Awesome and 360+ other photographers internationally to offer my photography services to a deserving family. Visit my photography blog for more details and to nominate a deserving family that you know. http://tinyurl.com/5aonp8

The winning family will receive $300 in custom photography from me. The person who nominated the winner will receive $100 print credit from me.

The winner will be announced on December 29th, 2008 on my photography blog.

Open your heart to someone this holiday season -- and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

Sarah

Christmas Fun

Only 8 days until Christmas! I'm no where near as ready as I was suppose to be. The biggie on my list is to still plan out Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day brunch.

Feel free to play along if you want. If you do, post a link to your blog in my comments section. I love to read what everyone puts on these things.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? A little of both. Bags for gifts that I have to deliver. Paper for gifts that sit under my tree.

2. Real tree or artificial? Artifical. We have a pre-lit 6 foot (which no longer is as tall as it used to seem) one. It was a well spent $20 at a Black Friday sale a few years ago. It needs replaced though. I would like it to be a bit taller and more filled out. Plus now the middle section's lights don't work anymore so it looks a bit funny.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually we pull out all the Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving but this year I wasn't hosting Thanksgiving so I started putting everything up on Thanksgiving Day before we headed to my parent's house for dinner.

4. When do you take the tree down? Sometime in January. I tend to be a slacker in this department. Last year I think everything was packed back up by the 15th.

5. Do you like eggnog? Not really.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Nothing really sticks out to me.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Punit. If he wants something he just goes and buys it. He doesn't let anyone have a chance to get it for him first. ugh.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Seema. Any 18 month old would be easy to shop for!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. I got it for Christmas last year.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I mail out Christmas cards.

11. Worst Christmas gift you've ever received? Not sure on this one either. I tend to blank on these "past times" questions. lol

12. Favorite Christmas movie? It's a Wonderful Life we used to watch every year as a family. But now with half of us kids moved out of the house we don't. We really enjoyed Home Alone 3 this year.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? When I get my gift list together.

14. Have you ever recycled a gift? Only for White Elephant gift exchanges at work.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Peanut Brittle, Peppermint White Chocolate Bark

16. Lights on the tree? Yes, white.

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? If we travel it's only 20 minutes from our house.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Possibly, if you give me enough time. lol

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

21. Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? We open 1 gift on Christmas Eve. It's always the gift that has Christmas pjs in it.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? People who are in a rush or grumpy.

23. Favorite ornament or theme color? Red and White/Silver

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Cranberry Sauce with real cranberries in it.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Realistically? New backdrop. Some cash. Unrealistically? A new house with the layout that would work for our family.

New Skirt

I cannot believe how "old" Seema is looking lately.

Check out her curls

Don't be fooled like Mom, this is NOT my first sucker. I love these!

Playing outside. Wearing the new skirt Grandma made for me.

Yep, that's right, Seema has a brand new one-of-a-kind skirt. Made especially for her by Grandma. Now she's not one to be all girly and it makes me to happy to see her in a skirt.

Happy Diwali

from our family to yours!

Week in the Life: Hot Topics... daycare and the weekend

TGIF!! Switching the format up a bit.


Daycare.
Daycare center or in-home daycare? Which would you choose and why?
With DH's recent job change and soon-to-be shift to 2nd shift we have been thinking about how our daycare needs have changed. We will only need daycare M-F from 2:30-5:30pm.


Most people celebrate this period of time off the clock. Why do we let our jobs rule our lives? Shouldn't we "live to work" not "work to live"?
I like my 8-5 job but I do like my weekend to focus on my family, some r&r, and on my photography business.

The Weekend.
What are you plans for this awesomely beautiful autumn weekend?
Tomorrow late afternoon we are heading to the pumpkin patch for photos and to pick up a pumpkin or two. :)

Week in the Life: Monday

• Another early morning wake up call, but 5am is a bit better than 4 am. :)
• Breakfast: apple slices with peanut butter
• Cleaned the kitchen, did the dishes, 1 load of laundry, vacuumed the main areas.. feeling totally productive today
  
• Lunch: mac n' cheese and green beans
• Check emails
• Check Facebook. Add me?
• Choose our family photos outfits. Can't wait! (Seema: cranberry, Mom: burnt orange, Dad: brown)
  

Week in the Life: Sunday

Why I need a true entry or mud room... so I can fill it with coat racks and shoe racks. I love Ikea, don't you?



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• Woke up to Seema crying at 4 this morning! This is the second day in a row. She's actually working on tooth #10 also. So that 2 teeth on top and 1 on bottom all coming in at the same time. You know it's just the start of a "not so good" day.
  
• Breakfast
• Bath time for Seema.
• Watch Betsy's Kindergarten Class on PBS.
  
• Daddy got home from work.
• Morning nap for Seema.
• Watched DIY and some Mtv recordings.
• Lunchtime. Seema ate great! Grapes, chicken with noodles and veggies.
• Afternoon (and much needed) nap for Seema.
• Refreshing shower with some refreshing awaken salt. Love this stuff!
• Laundry
• drink a bunch of water
• edit some photos

It it vacation time, yet?

Week in the Life Project

I like this idea. Ok, so I like reading what people do and I like sharing what I do. lol
I love including photos too!
This idea comes from Ali

We got our first iPod about a month ago. Punit takes it to work to listen to music/podcasts to help the hours fly by. I recently found a TON of podcasts on iTunes that I like.
Here's what I'm subscribed to, tell me what you are listening to?
Baby Time - yet to start listening to, but they are downloaded
fitMusic.com - yet to start listening to
Greys Anatomy Official podcast - I've heard from Carey that these are good, hope to listen before Thurs
Manic Mommies - so far I enjoy this one
Motherhood Uncensored - yet to start listening to
PediaCast: a pediatric podcast - L.O.V.E it!
PregTASTIC - yet to start listening to (downloaded the post-pregnancy one)
The Diva Cast - listened to 1, not sure if it's for me though. Seemed to waste my time some.

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Seema updates...

• teeth # 8 & 9 showed up Friday. #9 is her first molar. Ouch!
• She loves a game of peek a boo from within the closet. ROFL!
• She is starting to walk between 4 and 8 steps, when she wants too.
• The chicken pox look like they might be starting to scab over possibly by tomorrow. They look like they were drying out tonight.

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• My daughter hasn't "used" a paci since she was 6 months old. Then this week she found one in her toy bin and decided that she loves them. What makes that happen? I'm letting her use it for "comfort" since she's sick and teething right now but then they will be gone. She now groans instead of talking and I don't like that.
• I could just sit there and watch her crawl in front of me and still have an amazed look on my face, like I did the first time she did it. I still can't believe that she can crawl!

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If you know someone who's beginning the journey of pregnancy or planning it this would be a great, thoughtful, cheap gift. The Essential Pregnancy Organizer: 40 weeks +
It's free (minus s&h)! You can get it here and it arrives in about 10 days.