Picked up yet another new toy the other day. Had been eyeing this one for a long while and with the big wedding I’m shooting this weekend, I figured now would be the perfect time to get it. It’s called a Lightsphere and it’s an external flash diffuser (really, it just makes a flash not flash-y looking). I played a little the other evening (thanks, Jack!) and it really, really makes a difference.

#1. no flash, tungsten white balance (preset)

#2. no flash, custom white balance

#3. flash, flash white balance (preset)

#4. flash w diffuser (but no dome), custom white balance.

#5. flash w diffuser and dome, custom white balance.

Need to work on the camera settings with the flash, but definitely have the general idea down. Love the light the diffuser throws. A good investment!

I also have a new custom white balance system coming in any day. Looking forward to that too. I am finding that now that I’ve been doing the custom white balance, the pictures are much better overall.

And finally, thinking about getting a new camera. I know, I’ve only had the current (new) one for like 6 months. But I’m pretty sure I’m going to upgrade to the Canon 5D (a real pro camera). Like this week. I feel a trip to B&H coming on…  {no really, I do have a legit reason for the upgrade. First, my current back up is not so great and the external flash dosen’t work on it. Second, I have two weddings, 8 communions and 2 parties that are all mandatory backup situations- I need two super cameras minumum for all those events. Not to mention the 15 or so shoots beyond those I have booked between now and the first week of June- that’s going to be a lot of pictures. And I can’t afford to have a shutter meltdown again.} So if I show up with a new camera later this week, you’ll be the first to know.

Oh, and a new guilty pleasure in life…High School Confidential!! Ok, this is like the ultimate after school special, but with real people! Looooove it! It’s on WE network if you’re interested. Ivy, please tell me you watched it- with our love of after school specials, it surpasses even the cheesiest one. And there’s a girl with an eating disorder coming up in future weeks!! (Ivy & I were afterschool special junkies growing up thru highschool and after- especially the eating disorder ones. It’s good to have friends who understand, appreciate and share your oddest addictions). 

Timmy had a birthday party for his friend Daniel today over at Young Chef’s Academy- and he had a really great time. I think we’re going to have to do this at home too as it is a great project (and yummy too!). And although he was wearing about a pound of flour (what he wasn’t wearing, I was) by the end, his little pizza turned out really good. He was quite proud of himself cause it "tastes soooooo great!". Here are some of the steps of making a little tiny pizza (with lots of flour).

1. Decorate your chef’s hat. But you won’t wear it anyway.

2. Make as big of a mess as you possibly can with the flour. Dump some down Mommy’s leg for good measure. Keep at it until they take it away.

3. Knead the dough.

4. Roll the dough. Stab it with the end of the rolling pin to make "dots". Tastes better that way.

5. Add sauce.  

6. Add cheese. Take a little taste just to be sure it dosen’t need anything else.  

7. eat it up. Yum!

This is my good friend Celeste. She moved out of state a few years ago (can’t believe it’s been that long already) not long after her husband passed away and is home visiting this weekend. She is one of my "playgroup girls"- we met at Gymboree when the oldest kids were 3 months old and have kept having playgroup and such since then. Now, it’s mostly the mommies who get together because school and afterschool stuff gets in the way of playgroups. Anyway, back to the point of the post…

Celeste lost her husband to cancer a few years ago. He was a great, great guy. A fabulous husband and father. And it was such a waste. So very sad. Celeste had a very, very difficult time for a long while after his passing, but man, that girl pulled it together like no one’s business. She moved to Georgia with her two young girls, bought a house, got a job, learned how to run a household, made a whole life down there….and with NO HELP from anyone. She had no family in that area. She just picked up and went. And now she is thriving! She looks fantastic and is really, truly happy. It’s such a wonderful thing to see. She has come so very far. So brave! Maureen got her a little statue that said "courage". And that my friend is the absolute truth!

She put together a little celebration of David’s life with his family and friends tonight (the anniversary of his passing). And it wasn’t sad or morbid. It’s for everyone to share their best David stories and remember the impact he had on their lives. I got to go to dinner with her and Maureen and then hung out at the party for just a little bit. So unfortuately I didn’t get to see a lot of the people who were going to be coming, but I did get to see some of her family- which is always nice!      

For the first time in over a week, I was in the house all by myself. The big boys were at school, Timmy was at his school, and John went to work. Ahhhhhhhh. Silence. How I’ve missed you! It was really so nice although very brief. I didn’t even turn on the TV or put on any music. It was nice while it lasted. Then Miriam our cleaning lady came, and soon after that I had to pick Timmy up at school.  Here’s me in a self portrait, enjoying the quiet. Yes, I know I have to get my roots done. Bad. But who has time to sit there for 3 hours? My appointment is next weekend. That’s the earliest I could get.

The boys had a playdate afterschool today with their pal Ryan. Ryan is an incredible athlete and such a nice kid. I think they had fun although my boys were a little upset that it took both of them to tackle Ryan. He’s a big boy!

Timmy is really getting the whole tricycle thing! See, this is where I am so surprised about the low muscle tone thing. He can totally do it- where it took the big boys significantly longer to get the whole tricycle riding down. Still at a loss to figure out what he can and can’t do- it’s so strange. Grandma & Grandpa also bought him his first scooter for his birthday. He’s slowly getting that too. I am hoping by the fall he can do it enough so we can ride up to school to pick up the boys. I dunno, it’s a pretty long ride…I guess we’ll see.

My good friend Sharon had her baby boy today!! You’ll be seeing plenty of pictures of him soon. We have a shoot scheduled for late next week. Plus the fact that I have so many baby ideas floating around in my head that this poor kid is going to be photographed to death.  I’m going to the hospital tommorrow night to visit, but I wouldn’t count on any good pictures. They lock the babies up in the nursery during visitng hours so I’m going to be photographing him from a good distance behind glass and probably several people deep of baby admirers.

And in one last piece of exciting news- Timmy has been doing great on the potty training and has been dry all the time (he even woke up the next morning all dry which hadn’t happened before). And today– a huge milestone. Poop on the potty. I promised him a toy at Target when he did it, so off we went to Target this afternoon for a new toy. Bribes might just be the breaking point with this kid. I told him if he goes again, we can go back to Target. I might be bankrupt, but he’ll be potty trained and soon. I hope.

John got the go-ahead from his surgeon today and he’s going back to work tommorrow. Yippppeeeeee! I think we are both very, very happy about that. Very. He’s also allowed to drive again. The doctor took out the staples today and the incision is healing up nicely (it looks bad still, but healing well). Still only very short days at work, no trials, no bending, lifting, or twisting. But it’s progress. Here’s how it’s looking today without staples (warning: still way gross- but very colorful!)

John had a very big day today- going out for the whole morning. A haircut, a haircut for me, a visit to the doctor, a trip to the pharmacy (all by himself!) for some Darvocet. Vicodin, Percoset, Darvocet…take your pick. We got em all. I think he’s all kinds of worn out. I spent part of the night scrubbing off all the adhesive residue on his back from the bandages. yeah, that was fun.

So with John heading to work for a while in the morning, Jack, Patrick & Timmy going to school I will have the whole house to myself for the first time in over a week. I am going to just sit and listen to the quiet. For 15 minutes anyway. Then there is lots of stuff to do, as always. But I can’t wait. Sad, that I’m so excited about that, huh?

Did you hear about Patrick Swayze? He has pancreatic cancer. I don’t know why, but this news is making me very sad. I guess cause I grew up with his movies and I always liked him. Ya know…"no one puts baby in the corner". I hope he makes it.

I think I need to mention that I don’t really care for the age of 8. The mouths on them sometimes are just unbeliveable. And not in a good way. In the way you just want to bang their heads together. You know what I’m talking about. And I think they must be bi-polar. All lovey and happy and good and then the next second…eyerolling, attitude filled, know everything, fresh mouthed, tvinduceddeafness, scutches! I think they need to be outside. Maybe permanently. 

Looks like Timmy (almost) officially has low muscle tone. He failed his OT evaluation miserably and now has a PT evaluation next weekend. I still don’t know exactly how he did on the speech part (the therapist said he was borderline). It’s gonna be a while until we have definite results and move on to the CPSE meeting. But he is still as super cute and lovey and smart as always! My oldest friend Ivy came by for dinner tonight (thanks, I) and asked if she could keep him. Sorry, but him I can’t do without. What other 3 year old says "i love you sooooo much mommy" out of nowhere? I could just sqeeeeeeze him til he pops! We stopped by my favorite staircase/alleyway while running to the deli yesterday afternoon. He wasn’t in a good mood at all until I started calling him "timmyboo cranky pants". Then it was funny. For a while anyway.