superfluous - {austin area photographer}

because sometimes, adding words is just more than is necessary....













Music musing is "Rave On" by M. Ward (Featuring Zooey Deschanel)

open ~ {austin area photographer}

Sometimes I just like to sneak in a steal a picture while the girls are asleep. Evelyn had only just opened her eyes when I took this photo, after a long, and obviously satisfying nap.

I really love to open the windows, because in my opinion there isn't any better way to wake up than to a gorgeous light pouring in on clean linens. You can almost smell it in this picture, the soft scent of Tide and perfume that lingers on my pillow (which Evy is borrowing here). I hope she remembers it amorously when she is grown up. I have great memories of my own mother's pillow smelling better than anything in the whole house...





The song (when it loads properly), is "Glitter In The Air" by Pink. I very much fancy Pink's slower, heartfelt ballads.

exit - {austin area photographer}

SPC has me working this month, truly. Of course I am not sinless, I won't pretend that.. still this theme of "Seven Deadly Sins" is tricky for me. I'm very modest, yet I want to dive deeper creatively than I did last week. I want to try and capture something a little more outside my comfort zone.

Today I exited my place of security, I chose to try and shoot "lust."




I don't have anything clever to say, I'm still reeling from actually sharing this photo. However, I do have a gorgeous version of "She Is Love" by Parachute on my playlist for this shot.

the dark side of self portrait

It's SPC time..... here I go again with the narcissism. Not really, this time it's all about someone else.

The theme for July is "The Seven Deadly Sins." Kind of dark and creepy, not my style so much, but I can roll with it. I gave it some thought and what I came up with was "envy."



Not that I sit around wishing to be someone else, but given the chance to switch faces and/or bodies with someone else, it would certainly be Kate Beckinsale. There really isn't a single thing about her that isn't exactly perfect (her nose especially causes the green to rise in me a bit).

On to a more personal note. I'm DRIVING again!!!! My back is still stiff and sore at times, but I have made huge improvements and I can drive (sometimes it requires a Tylenol), I am narcotic-free, the physical therapist has added weights to my workout, I am able to lean back in chairs now, and a few other boring things that are milestones for me. :o) I'm quite excited about this and I will most likely be moving back to my favorite city at the end of this week! Austin, I miss you!

I have a music musing to share as well. I just purchased this song on iTunes and love it. The song is "I Don't Believe You" by Pink. She really has a strong voice, this song compliments it perfectly.

and so we drench

It's how it has to be when you live in Texas and it's over 100 degrees every single day... swimming is a must. So here are some pictures of our little poolside spectacle.



Snow cones are pretty much a necessity in the summer. However, this was the first time Masyn and Evelyn had ever had one!
*Masyn would like to add a note here.... "All our tongues match our swim suits."
She is soooooo OCD.



So, we have this little game in the pool...basically I throw this wet ball and everyone else tries to catch it... (so much fun for me, let me tell you). Occasionally though, I get a helper who throws too, and this is Masyn's "throw face" that I just LOVE!! She is so intense and honestly, she has a darn good arm for a 5 year old.



Yeah, yeah, I tried to take one of myself too, to prove that I was there during this time in the girl's life. I seriously think that they will question my existence one day because there are so few pictures of us together.....because I am always taking the pictures. *Note to self: Invest in a remote for The Beast.



Avery was soaking up some serious sun here. Everything about this is reflective, I swear my lens was screaming in pain when I took this picture. "Too bright Amelia, too bright!!" And I politely answered back "SHUT IT!"



My darling little Evelyn Blair! She wears out pretty quick in the sun, so it's imperative that I snap her before she gets in the pool. If I miss that precious moment before she is submerged...all hope of a happy picture is lost, because either 1. her eyes are closed, or 2. she is crying to go get food.



Another picture of Avery (who, the little narcissist that she is since her P-word post, will be thrilled to see herself again).... looking way too grown up. I love this new phase in her life, but oh boy does it ever make me feel old!!!

Music musing selection is "Juicy" by Better Than Ezra.

texture trumps tone

At least for now, I have to concede to the "softening" of my muscles, because I can't really challenge myself like I was before surgery. It's disheartening, I won't lie. I'm cringing when I look in mirrors and pull up my shorts. Let me just say "firm" is not the adjective I would use to describe my legs at this point.

On a recent grocery excursion, I had to pick up a new can of shaving gel. As I perused the self grooming aisle, I stumbled upon Skintimate Cream Shave. "Hmm," I wondered aloud. Something I haven't tried, and many of you know that I am a sucker for trying new things, especially beauty products. Yes, I am the advertiser's dream come true. I am the customer who reads the heady promises and thinks "I have to try this!"

I bought the Cream Shave, and oddly..my shaving gel that was almost empty seemed to breed within the can and never run out, as if it knew how anxious I was to try the new product sitting on the cabinet. Finally, on a great Monday morning, my shaving gel could breed no more and I tried the Cream Shave.

The result of this new product (paired with my Men's Gillette Fusion Razor) was an incredibly soft, smooth shave!!!! When I say this, I am not just talking about a decent shave, this was one of those "I can't keep my hands off my own legs" shave! Seriously, I was flipping out while I rinsed them, lathered on a little unnecessary lotion, and dressed. I wanted to just touch them all day, and the next!

So while my legs might not be in tip top shape, I have found something that, for now, can boost my spirits about my gams.

masyn unfettered on the wii

This is what happens when a five year old with some O.C.D. characteristics plays a Wii.



There aren't any words needed here... it made me laugh to watch her, so I'm sharing the joy.

not so puerile anymore

I get asked fairly often "don't you have 3 girls?" I answer emphatically (and with a mental rolling of my eyes) "yes." The eye rolling is not due to the asking of the question, but merely to the fact that I have to be asked.... sometimes I find myself exasperated with my beautiful firstborn, because she is never present for picture taking! If I am lucky enough to hog tie her long enough to shoot some pictures, her pained expressions make me feel much too guilty to post them on here (not to mention the ropes that show in the background of how she is tied up).

I reduced myself to bribery. Unabashedly, I admit this to you all. I buttered her up with promises of the use of my fedora and a personal one-on-one photo shoot. Of course the weather was boiling and her typical look of torture surfaced quickly (there was apparently a very important Wii game she needed to go play), but I did manage to snag this picture.



More recently and to the point of this post, Avery (that's my oldest daughter for those of you who are still lost) mentioned the other day something about the "P" word. Yes, she was talking about something and I was buried deep in my Harry Potter book, when like screeching tires on a semi wet road my ears were assaulted with "oh you mean like puberty?"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!...went through my mind. She's ten, I'm not ready for this, not ready for her to be so grown and to know all this stuff. I'm still waiting for my own breasts to develop, I don't think I can manage telling her about hers.

Once they picked me up off the floor, (no that's a joke, if I fell it would be super bad right now as I am still healing from back surgery) I regained my composure and asked her if she knew what that...that...P word meant. She said "no, not really, just heard it on tv."

*sigh*

Thank you God! I was still going to have time to tell her myself.

So, as you all might have guessed by now, we are having "the talk" almost daily. We are embracing ideas about better hygiene, body image, healthy living, and reading a book together that helps us talk on her level where I have often been unable to express to her the importance of some of these issues (especially hygiene and eating...somehow she thinks books must be right so maybe Mama isn't that dumb after all since the book agrees with what I have been saying for the past couple years). I won't embarrass her by sharing the private questions and answers we have talked about, because she does read this from time to time, but to all you moms of girls in this precarious time of life, don't hesitate as I did... having these times together is SO helpful. It has opened the door for some communication between us that she wasn't sure how to put into words and I have been able to grasp a little more that she is in fact becoming a young woman and I have to let her try some things and that it's okay to guide her towards becoming a woman. I'm making it a point to help her find the fun in being a girl and wearing skirts, or make up, or how to do fun things with her hair.

She isn't grown up yet, but she's getting there and I want to be by her side the whole way.



Avery, this is a special note to you as you snoop around my blog:

I love you baby! I love singing to Taylor Swift with you. I love playing Fashion Party on the Wii. I love that you care about your sisters, even though sometimes they make you so mad you hit (I don't love that you hit sometimes). I love that you want to spend time with your silly mama. I love spending time with you. I love it when you talk to me. I love when we get to shop together. I love fixing your hair. I love looking at your baby pictures. I love swimming with you. I love getting to watch you grow up. I love how well you adjust to new places. I love walking in to see you sleeping with your glow worm. I love that God put you in my life!

sometimes.

There are many things that are commonly considered to be cute and faces that are typically thought to be cute. Most children utter "cheese" the moment they see a camera. Trained from birth to look straight at the lens and flash a smile, genuine or not.

I have tried hard to keep my girls from this. In fact, it's quite tricky, but I like to just pretend there is no camera and play with them as usual so that I get a real and what I find to be the most precious pictures... candid shots.

The only trouble with my choice in their photographic upbringing is that when they ARE aware of my camera's presence, they either run, or do this....



Yes, these really are their faces just from seeing "The Beast" (that's my camera). I didn't say or do anything to upset them, they just didn't want me to take a picture I guess, because once they saw glass, the smiles faded.



The truth is though, I really love these faces too, pouty and all, I just want to kiss and hug away the frowns. I absolutely love every face they make, even though they aren't all chipper and they don't sniff the "cheese" face, I would sometimes rather have a scowl than anything else...if it means being real, I'd for sure rather have the moody faces.

leaps and bounds

I am beyond excited, beyond thrilled... really I am just super grateful and extremely giddy! I have finally turned some kind of corner! I feel so much better this week!!!

My pain has subsided and is more what I would call "discomfort." I am not pain free, but it's so tolerable that I am just pushing ahead with movement and exercises at physical therapy and home. Today I got in a pool, though I am not yet strong enough to swim, I could finally hold my girls and that felt wonderful, I've missed picking them up.



As evident by my picture, I can now move enough to lay on my stomach, which was a feat a couple weeks ago. Riding in cars is finally not like facing a gauntlet. I just feel like life is going to be okay again, I have a refreshed outlook and I think for the first time since my surgery, I might see that this was a good choice. :o)

I still have lots of swelling and a mysteriously gross pot belly to get rid of, but I'm working hard to tackle those as well.

Thank you all for the outpouring of love and prayers, they have meant so much to me and I know have aided in my making it through this, because there were days (you can ask my mom) I thought maybe I'd rather just die than keep dealing with the pain and the recovery. It's not over, but this week has been the best yet and I just have a great feeling that I will keep getting better and better and return to Austin and Anthro.... oh I just can't wait, I miss life!!!