Heather Ann Melzer

Is it wrong...

that the only gifts I've purchased for xmas so far have been for myself?  LOL!

I picked up my wintery slipper boots at the Bass Outlet store in the Dells last weekend, and I couldn't resist that adorable holiday mug at Starbucks this morning (or the new ornaments they have - eek!) I think I'm going to put up a little tree in my office that pays homage to my full blown obsession - I think I'd work harder if it feels like I'm in a Starbucks shop all day ;)

I have a few more things on my wish list, too - like one of these for all of the cupcakes we tote, and one of these to see if it will really make my cookies better. I've had my eye on one of these forever - would love a set with each of the kids' birthstones. And I had to gasp out loud when I saw this, and especially love the fact that you'll be able to make your own printing plates in the future. Can you say letterpressed business cards?  Love it!

I'm still at a loss as to what direction to go with the kids' gifts this year. I asked Jack what he wanted Santa to bring him the other day and said "a garbage truck". LOL! I was even more surprised to see that they actually sell garbage truck toys, and they're cute! Kenzie is completely headband obsessed, so this would be right up her alley, and these would be adorable for Christmas. I think the girls would love something like this, too, and Jack loves the scooter at school, so I know he'd love one of these.

I find it very hard to buy anything before Black Friday, though. Any other diehard Black Fridayers feel that way? Some stores are already advertising better deals than those scheduled for Black Friday, but I don't feel the urge to start shopping until the mad rush starts. I'm actually hoping to do much more ordering online this year, so we'll see how that goes.

Other than shopping on the brain, I'm SO excited to have tickets to see New Moon on Friday night! I apparently waited too long to order the tickets, since the theater I wanted to go to was virtually sold out. I snagged 2 of the last seats for the 6:30 show and am trying to prevent myself from buying one of these to wear to it - HA! I already feel like I'm dragging Tom to it (although he got me hooked on the series to begin with), so I think I'll wear something a little more age appropriate. He's having a hard enough time dealing with my new rain boots anyway. Such a conservative, he is.

Before I sign off today, I want to congratulate the winner of the Toms for the Whole Family giveaway. Congratulations, Jennifer Maddocks! A $200 gift certificate is on its way to her - how fun!

Never gets old

I think I've mentioned before that I've been going to the Dells for vacations since I was a kid. We never had money for big vacations and certainly none that required a plane ride, so the 3 hour ride to the Dells was the perfect little getaway spot. It's changed so much in the last 25+ years, but it never gets old. I love that it's close enough for a weekend jaunt, but far enough to feel like you're getting away.

We stayed at the Wilderness this time around and had such a good time. My sisters and their kids were in a 3 bedroom condo and we were in a 2 bedroom. We had full kitchens, so my sisters each took a dinner and we made breakfast Saturday morning. It worked out perfectly. We had italian night, mexican night, and made-to-order omelettes for breakfast (Tom was a cook at a breakfast restaurant in college). I also made a birthday cake for Katie and we squeezed in a movie night, too - I'll share those pics tomorrow.

Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip (after I made a trip to buy a new memory card since I left mine at home!):

 

 

I'm already ready to go back!

PS - Don't forget about the TOMS shoes giveaway!  Entry deadline is today at 11:59PM PST!

Every fairytale needs a villian

    

   

   

And Katie was more than willing. I love that last one - you can't contain Katie's sweetness for too long ;)

I really didn't think this costume idea would stick, but there's something about going against your personality on Halloween that makes it fun, I think. Kenzie mentioned wanting to be Snow White a few months ago and the trio was born from that. Katie was such a trooper with her nose, which was glued on with Spirit Gum. It smelled really bad, but she didn't want to break character, so she wore it for most of the night. The next morning she said, "Next year I'm being Tinkerbell!"  I think there was some serious lipstick envy happening with her older sister - lol. I made her gown/hood with tons of velvet and no pattern (wee!). It was actually really liberating. Velvet is NOT the easiest fabric to work with, but I was proud of the end result. She really did look like the Snow White witch, I think.

Jack was napping during Katie's photo shoot and didn't wake up until well into trick-or-treating, so I'll have to do a formal shoot with him in costume next weekend. Here are some shots I did manage to get of him later in the night...

 

Jack's tunic and pants are made of sweatshirts I bought at Walmart. I bought the shirt big so it would be long enough and then cut the bottom/sleeves off and hemmed them (including the slit in front). His hat was a $1 find that I sewed into a point so it would stick up. Then I blanket stitched on some big yellow buttons and sewed a belt out of velvet and more yellow felt. I made his boot covers out of tan felt and they velcro'd in the back. He wouldn't wear the beard on his face, but I still think he looked like a dwarf. He was torn about being Doc until we saw the movie and then he was ok with it. Although when we were shopping for his sweatpants/shirt in Walmart he was screaming, "I DON'T WANT TO BE A DORF!" It was as funny as it sounds - lol!

I'll share a group shot and some fun video tomorrow :)

Halloween photo opps

So much goes in to making Halloween a special day, that it would be a shame not to take pics all the things that make it so magical. I'm determined to capture some things I've failed to in years past and some that I have and would like to again, like...

The loot

Trick or treating

A lit jack-o-lantern

Full costume shot

Closeup costume shot

Acting the part

Handing out candy to trick-or-treaters

Closeups of decorations

It's always stressful getting the kids together for a group pic, but I'm glad we pushed through and got one of all of them holding their jack-o-lanterns last Wednesday night. Emma wasn't enjoying herself at all, but at least her and her pumpkin are present :)

I'm so excited about Halloween being on a Saturday. I'm planning on staging a photo shoot before we start trick-or-treating. Normally,we race to get the kids dressed when they get home and by then it's dark and too late to take decent pics of them. I'm hoping with less rushing, I'll have time to take more creative shots than I have in past years.

I'll leave you with some great Halloween photography tips I found online. And a few more here.

Have a safe, photo-filled, HAPPY Halloween!!

At the Patch '09

We made a last-minute decision to venture out to the pumpkin patch last Sunday, and I'm so glad we did. It's been really cold here in Chicagoland, and I was holding out for a warmer day, but since Indian Summer passed us by this year, we had to work with what we had. It actually turned out to be warmer than we expected, though, so we got lucky. Aside from the puddles of mud from all of the rain we've had. We actually cut through the corn maze because we couldn't find our way out and we were sinking in mud quicksand - lol!

We went to a new farm this year - Kuipers in Maple Park. It's probably quite a jaunt for folks that don't live as far out as we do, but it was a really neat place and we'll definitely be back. It's a real working farm with a pumpkin patch and all kinds of things to do on one side and a full U-pick apple orchard on the other. After we ran around and played for a few hours, we walked across the street for some of their famous apple cider donuts. YUM! We also bought a bag of freshly picked apples and Tom said they were delicious (I'll have to take his word on that ;)

I was just saying last night (during our 2nd annual Pumpkin Carving Party), that I probably take more pics in October than any other month of the year - lots going on. Here are some of my favorites from our outing...

Is there anything cuter than a chubby little boy with a messy donut? Maybe...

Once upon a time

There was a girl with a dream.

To be the best Snow White,

Halloween had ever seen.

She ventured into the forest with her flowing red cape,

and with a bite of poison apple

she sealed her fate.

Through the years

I'm so glad I've kept up with this picture taking tradition, although it sure does make for a hectic morning! I can't believe how much all three of them have grown in the last year - it's crazy. Jack looks like he's ready for kindergarten. I think I'm gonna need a bigger haybail next year - lol.

I made the girls' tiered skirts with some adorable skull fabric and the shirts with button sets I found at Joann's. Here's Kenzie modeling her skirt last week...

I've got holiday skirts on deck for them with some fabric that I've been coveting, as well as some pillowcase tops and appliqued t's for fall/winter. I'm also about to tackle adding patches onto almost all of their jeans to cover the knee holes. At this point, we have more jeans with holes than not, so this one might go to the top of the list. It might finally be time to bust out this baby - lol!

He's just a little boy

Oh, the power he has over his mother. Can you see the twinkle in his eye when he realizes it? I've watched this video 400 times since uploading it yesterday - he is sweetness in a chubby little package.

As promised, below is a link to a directory of photographers in the US and abroad. If you'd like your name included, there's still time! Just email me the relevant information and I'll be sure to add it. If I've missed your information or a correction needs to be made, please let me know that, too.  Thanks to all of the wonderful photographers that submitted! :)

I'll make this a permanent link on the sidebar soon, but for now you can get there via this link:

PHOTOGRAPHER DIRECTORY

Photographers wanted

It's the time of year when many of us start thinking about how nice it would be to have a beautiful family photo to include in our Christmas cards, so I thought I'd try something out. If you're a photographer that likes to take pics of families and would like me to mention you on my blog, send me an email (link on the left) with the following information:

Name of business
Website
City/State
Approximate cost for session
Special deals/events (mini sessions, etc.)

Next week I'll post a list of all of the information I receive, so email me today!

I'm hoping that my friend, Joy of Joy Uzarraga Photogaphy, will be able to take our family photo again this year (photo in this post is from our 2007 session with her). I'm hoping for a really fun pic for our holiday card this year!

I've got spirit...

how 'bout you?

It was Spirit Week at Kenzie's school and this was her on Crazy Hair Day. We spray dyed her hair orange and then Katie insisted on having hers done, too. I was afraid it would become permanent with as light as Kenzie's hair is, but it was pretty much gone by the end of the day. It says to use caution if you dye or perm your hair, so I now know to keep it away far away from me.

She ended up missing School Color Day today, and after a trip to the doctor, she's been confirmed with strep throat. I've been feeling worse than her, but my throat culture came back negative (whew!). Now to just keep it from spreading to anyone else before the 24 hour contagious period is up. No wonder why October always feels like such a hectic month, it seems like every week we're coming down with something new.

On a brighter note, it's 7pm, which means the kids are getting settled upstairs for tonight's Movie Night. I came down to grab my camera. Tonight's treat is Apple Pie Ala Mode - can you guess the flick?