Sunday Citar:A good snapshot stops a moment...

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~Eudora Welty

In this age of ever-present cameras, it seems as though every moment of our lives can be caught and held on to. Many purists hate the cell phone photos... poorly lit, ill focused, overly processed by the many apps available... just not the beauty captured by a true photographer...

But I personally love my oodles of cell phone pics. I take hundreds per month. From the mundane to the funny to the remarkable... I can catch most of the moments of my life instantaneously.

It may be my legs tangled in my daughters as we cuddle on the couch, or a glimpse of Acadia peddling by me just after she has perfected riding her bike, or me delighting in my lobster at a quick beach jaunt with a girlfriend...

The camera is there and it stops a good moment from running away. I can stop every so often, flip through my pictures and remind myself: no matter how banal my moments have seemed, they still contained smiles, color, laughter, comfort... and most of all, pure & simple joy.

Please go visit Tabitha at Fresh Mommy to see some more Sunday Citar and many more moments.

Unofficial end of Summer

I am officially in Back to School mode. This means the unofficial end of summer (*sniff*sniff*).

For me, this means running around to doctors, town office, etc... grabbing various paperwork for Annika's entry into kindergarten (*sniff*sniff*).

Also, I went grocery shopping... for reals. Shopping for meals outside of hot dogs, hamburgers and corn on the cob. Getting back on a meal plan with food... cook inside my house... eaten with silverware.

Shopping for food for lunches and snack time.

This year, I am attempting the Bento box for Ariana... which means researching recipes... er ideas... and buying the box, the accessories... (yes, you do sense a blog post coming.)

I have started organizing the girls' clothes, putting away some of the summer, pulling out the autumn, having fashion shows to create suitable outfits that are then hung together on hangers (a feat of organization saved for only the first month of school every year).

I am also slowly cleaning my disaster of a house which has fallen to the wayside in exchange for days in the park, trips to the ocean, afternoons in the pool, jaunts to the waterpark (no regrets there!)

Goodbye, wonderful summer. You have been so good to me... but I am ready to get these kids back to school!

I am a Versatile Blogger

I seemed to have received a very prestigious award from Jennifer of What's Mine is Yours. It is the Versatile Blogger Award. Unfortunately, there are strings attached if I accept this award... which I will happily abide by.

Here are said strings:

-Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
-Share 7 things about yourself.
-Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.

So, first: Thank you, Jennifer! Love the new hair cut and you are totally young enough to pull off the nose piercing. I did not get mine the last time until my late twenties.

And now, 7 things about myself...

1. My top 3 played songs in my iTunes are all by Ray Lamontagne. I heart him.

2. The person who stood up with me at my wedding was my best friend... and it was a BOY... (GASP!) I heart him too.

3. My toenails are painted 100% of the time, my fingernails... never...ever.

4. I have 2 blue dots on my wrist where I started to give myself a tattoo... and then quickly decided it was a horrible idea. Thank God. (I was 14... give me a break, ok?)

5. I have never been a cigarette smoker (try growing up in a small trailer where everyone smoked INSIDE... in like, 700 square feet... freaking turned me off from smoking real quick.) But, I did love to sneak a taste of a clove cigarette... before I became the responsible Momma of 3.

6. I have worked for Staples for 13 years of my life. I mean, if you call 10 hours a week working at this point. But I love them for letting me step down and work 6-8am so that I can be home with my children the rest of the day. Because, really, who could afford daycare for 3 kids even if I wanted to work full time.

7. When Colby finishes college, I want to go to school to be a masseuse. I LOVE getting massages and think there are some definite healing qualities there... and I would love to be able to bring these qualities to other people.

And, finally, my 15 recently discovered blogs that I love:

Elle's New England Kitchen (Yum!)

FYeahTattoos (Great inspiration if your gonna get one.)

Soule Mama (She's from Maine and is crafty, what's not to love?)

Creative Bubbles (She also has 3 little girls, so she holds a special place in my blog-heart.)

Frugal Family Fun Blog (Great, great ideas to amuse my kids.)

Honey Scrap (Inspires me with her crafts.)

Oh Dear Drea (is supercute, super sweet and is navigating life as a single mom.)

A Beautiful Mess (let's just say she is a very pretty blog.)

Ok, I am done. Is that 15 blogs? No? Well, I guess I have only discovered 8 recently... so that's what ya get.

You know you are an old married couple when....

...you speak through the voice of your sewing machine!

Translation of note left after my sewing machine was moved from it's table for the fiftieth time:

"Please leave me here so Michele can sew. Thank you!"
"But sometimes I get cold from blocking the air conditioner all day... so I move."

(And, yes, Colby and I both have atrocious handwriting... that happens when you get as old as we are.)

New England Premier Photographer: Rachel Halsey

As if you have not figured it out yet by my recent slew of family photo-heavy posts, we had our family photos done the day before we left on our vacation... and I am in love with them... every single one. Rachel was such a joy to work with... and so good to roll with the punches... in true Horne family style, we made every moment of the shoot an adventure... it started with Acadia's naked bum. Somewhere between me dressing her and us arriving at the shoot, she had removed her undies. Which wouldn't be so bad if my children did not have a penchant for mooning people at every chance. So Rachel had the pleasure of trying to take shots from angles not showing a naked 2 year-old tushy.

And then, to really challenge her, I requested shots with our hula hoops- which she captured wonderfully: She was able to capture us in all sorts of fun moves while still keeping a picturesque background in mind.

Next up, we walked down to the ocean where Acadia promptly fell into a huge pit of sticky, gray, thick mud. I instinctively scooped her up which then covered me in said sticky, gray, thick mud. (See her little feet and legs and my bum... all covered in mud for the rest of the shoot.)

And then poor Rachel had to deal with 3 sisters in which: 'A' does not want to sit next to 'B', 'B' does not want to sit next to 'C', 'C' does not like 'A' or 'B', 'B' does not want 'A' to look at her face, 'A' does not want 'B' within 10 feet of Mommy... etc., etc., etc. I know from years of trying to get photos of 3 kids... it is nearly impossible, but Rachel has a way with people... and they loved her. She was able to catch great shots of Daddy and his girls:
Absolutely PERFECT pictures of my with my girls:

A few great ones of Colby and I:

And, simply put... she took some plain old kick ass photos:

If you are in northern New England, I would highly recommend Rachel. I am honestly thinking of doing a 10 year vow renewal so that she will do my wedding photos! You spend 1-2 hours with her... get a CD with over 75 full resolution images. Do you know what that means??? You can upload your photos to your fave photo site (Shutterfly, Snapfish... whatever you use) and then send that link out and let people buy their own images! (Right, Mom???) Saving you a ton of money. She gives you full rights so you can get your Christmas cards made or a cool canvas print... or whatever your itty bitty heart desires instead of being locked into whatever she wants you to buy from her. i LOVE full rights to my own photos!

Plus, she's cute and sweet and funny and huggable (I know this because Annika would not let her leave without a hug!) And generous... she said if you mention my name when booking with her, she will give you $50 off!

And, because I love her so much and want to sweeten the pot a bit more, if you all go like her Facebook page and get her to 600 fans, I will give one of my readers any product from my Etsy site! (Just leave a comment here to let me know you stopped by to see her and I will choose a winner as soon as she reaches 600 fans.)

So, what do you think? How'd she do????