I'm Going to Pay for This!

First just a quick apology about the lack of "Tuesday Ten" this week. No excuses...just lazy! It's only week 3 and I'm already slacking!



I guess these pictures deserve an explanation. Notice Jack's hair is in a pony tail?! Well, it's not because I wanted a daughter (because I didn't). Although I have been accused of such before (because of the long hair, but we won't go there). And I can assure you, I won't be putting him in a dress anytime soon.

This was actually a part of our Halloween dress rehearsal and I wanted to make sure I could hide his hair under his wig. Yep, that's right! His Halloween costume involves a wig.


I just thought he looked so cute, I had to snap a couple pictures. Although I have a feeling at some point.....I'm going to pay for this!!!!

The Brooks Family

What makes a good picture? Well for me it's really simple. If a picture makes me smile....you got....it's a good one! This photo shoot was full of them! And how can you not smile with these two little boys around?!


And just let me tell you, they are ALL boy. In my first conversation with Amileth, I was throwing prop suggestions out and I asked her if either boy had a stuffed animal they were fond of. She got real quite and then chuckled and said, "My boys shoot stuffed animals." And I think that pretty much sums it up!!!


Thanks for the opportunity Brooks family! It was truly a pleasure!!

The Reality of Picture Taking (with my son)

This story is for all those individuals who think taking pictures of my son is a piece of cake. I often get comments like "Your son must be so good when you take pictures of him. You always get the cutest shots!" The truth is, my son is pretty typical. He would much rather play with his trucks and trains than be in front of my camera. He is actually my hardest subject. To illustrate my point, I have narrated our latest "adventure"! Enjoy!!



On our way home this evening, we passed this field...






I thought....."How picturesque!". So I asked Jack if he was up for some picture taking and he said yes! So we ran home, I grabbed my camera, and back we went.



But things quickly deteriorated before we ever got out of the driveway because for some reason he thought he was taking his big battery powered tractor! So he was already crying by the time he got in the car!!?? Ughhhhhh!!



So we made it to the field and he hit the ground running. So I opted for some action shots because that's all I was getting...his backside








And again, this one consisted of me running in front of him in an attempt to get his face (actually looking at the camera was out of the question!)





Then he was too preoccupied with the weeds to turn around and look at me, so here's another cute one (of his backside).





So then I got the half turn and seized the opportunity for a profile pic.......





Oh, wait....I think he's smiling. Yep, it's because I bribed him. I told him we would go back to the car and leave if he would just smile. So this is what I got.....





This was my last ditch effort for a cute pose. (I obviously lied to him on the last one because I was still snapping pictures as he was whining about going back to the car and wanting pizza for dinner.) I asked him if he could just put his hands in his pockets, look at me, and smile. This is him trying to find his pockets and you can probably guess...there was NO smile.....





And for the grand finale, we had actual tears of agony and disgust for the entire photo taking fiasco.....

Tuesday Ten

This Tuesday, it's all about randomness.......


1. Pfizer (the largest drug maker in the world, by revenue) announced last Tuesday morning it's plans to buy King Pharmaceuticals (the small company I work for). Needless to say, we're all a little freaked and I think the current joke floating around says it all...."Welcome to Pfizer. You're Pfired!" Any way you look at it, things are going to change for me in the next 3 to 6 months. I'm either going to be in the unemployment line, or working for big pharma. Neither option is desirable to me, but I'll take the latter of the two....FOR SURE!






2. I LOVE Coke. I don't mean the illegal kind (although I wonder if they still slip a little cocaine in there). It's a terrible habit, but I guess I could have worse problems. But I know if I could just stop drinking it I would probably drop 10pounds in a matter of weeks. But it's just a further testament to my addiction that I'd rather keep my 10 pounds than ditch the coke.....I'm sick!!



3. I have a weird thing for newsmen. I have a small crush on Brian Williams (I love when he's on 30 Rock and The Daily Show) and for that matter, Anderson Cooper. There was a rumor going around awhile back that Anderson was going to take over for Katie Couric at CBS. Then I would really be torn at 5:30.....who would I watch? I'm glad I don't have to make that decision yet! Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are still safe at 10pm and 10:30pm, respectively. (If you call them newsmen, but I guess I have a little thing for comedians too!! :)






4. I just read "Sh*t My Dad Says" by Justin Halpern. I think Bronson and I read about 75% of the book aloud to one another and I bet we burned off 500 calories just laughing! He has over 1 million followers on Twitter. Click the link below.....

Sh*t My Dad Says







5. After finishing that book I stopped in Barnes & Noble to pick up another book and I happened on this.....





If you watch Castle on Monday nights you know Richard Castle is a fictional character and author in the television show. And sure enough, I flipped the book over and there was Natan Fillion staring at me on the back cover (the actor who plays Castle). So my first reaction was...wait!....what? Who wrote this??!! Well, apprently nobody really knows because no real author has claimed to have (although speculation is James Patterson, Michael Connelly, or possibly Stephen J. Cannell before his death). Nevertheless the book is very cute and plays right into the t.v. show, which I love!






5. I have an extreme admiration for Jackie Kennedy (Onassis) for her courage, style, and grace! That was one classy woman!





6. My mom sent her first text last week. The conversation went something like this...

Mom: I can text! xxx mom

Me: Yahhhhh! I'm so proud of you mother! Welcome to the 21st century!

And throughout the day she continued exercising her newly found form of comunication by sending random messages like "It's me again!" and "Hi!". It was pretty cute...man I love that woman!



7. If I ever got another dog, which I'm pretty certain I won't considering Brons threatens to get rid of the one we have...on a daily basis! But IF I did, I would get a Labradoodle and name him Beauregard and call him "Beau" for short. I think it's too cute and I adore large dogs!






8. I try to reserve Sunday for my "no make-up wearing day". I'm not really sure why I do it, other than it's nice to not only give my skin a break, but me a break as well. I think applying make-up is a chore!! So if you see me out on a Sunday (if you recognize me), try not to be too repulsed. (Also, note that I did not add a photo with this entry! :)


9. Sometimes I worry that my husband is slowly working himself to death! EVERYDAY he gets up, works at the farm for 8+ hours and then comes home to do architecture work on the computer, all the while staying on top of the businesses!! We talk about taking a vacation often, however it hasn't been penciled in the planner yet and I unfortunately don't see it happening soon. Although we do have Bhrett's wedding and skiing to look forward to in March. Hopefully something sooner, but until then, I'll be dreaming about this......





10. Jack is really small. In fact, he isn't even wearing 2T clothing yet. I often buy Jack's clothes off season (to get the best deal...you know me) and last summer I bought a bunch of 2T clothes for this summer. Needless to say, they have sat in his closet, so I'm just hoping maybe by next summer! But no matter his size, I sure do love this little guy....

The Corn/McDicken Family

Yesterday I traveled down to my parent's house for a little photo shoot with Billie Jo, Caleb, Todd, and Jesse. We had so much fun, as I think you can probably tell from the pictures, and it was a pleasure, as always, to take photos for such a photogenic family! Thanks for the opportunity guys.....hope you love them!!

Lauren Olivia Continued.....

This auntie is a little biased. I had to post more pictures from last night because there were just too many cute ones. Here are a few more for your viewing pleasure....