A long road ahead

I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I promise I will one day be back here. I just launched my photography business so I am taking some time to focus on this and my family. I love having this little outlet to express my thoughts and feelings but I feel like between taking care of my two boys, my new business and this blog something has got to give. I hope you will forgive me for my absence.  Hopefully very soon I will get organized and be able to tell you all about it. And since I can't ever have a blog post without a picture, take a look at what I woke up to this morning. I love hazy sun!!!!
This is the view from outside my front door at 6:45 this morning.

An hour later, it was pouring rain!!! Go figure!!!

Mr. G and his beautiful family

I love that I can share my love of photography with all of my friends. It makes me so happy to see that my little obsession (ok, big obsession) brings them so much joy when I get that "perfect" picture shot.  This past weekend I got to do it again with my oldest (and by oldest I don't mean age, I mean she has known me the longest) and dearest friend Tara. We have been best friends since we were in grade 6. I have written about her before. Anyhoo, 6 months ago she had a baby, I shot newborn pics for her. He was that cutie I featured a few weeks ago about comparing your middle to your beginning. Now that he is 6 months old T wanted some pics of her adorable Mr. G smiling that oh so adorable toothless smile. I was super excited to help out. I thought you might like to see what we came up with.

First we took some family shots.

I have known for years how incredibly beautiful Tara is.  As teens I always witnessed how the boys would just flock to her. Now she is a mamma to that beautiful little boy and she must have passed on the photogenic genes to him too because I could not take a bad picture of him if I tried.  And her hubby is not so bad either. Man this is one photogenic family!

After some family shots I took some of daddy with Mr. G! They were so cute with their matching (but not too matchy) outfits. Matchy is a word you know!

Then it was time for a little Mommy and Mr. G!

The day we shot these pictures it was very cloudy. I was worried about rain but we lucked out. Cloudy days are great for shooting outside because you don't have to worry about bad sun glare or squinty eyes. I wish that we had foliage on the trees, however, with the edits I made I think the trees look good. It makes those pictures with dad feel more masculine.

Mr. G was in such a good mood after this family shoot that I was able to take him up to my bedroom and do more awesome pictures of just him on my bed!!!! Check out these blue eyes!!!

Oh and one last picture because it just makes me giggle!

hehe I just love the expression on his face! What a cutie!

T I hope you love these pictures as much as I do!!!

xoxo Rie

Veggie Tales

 So it has been an on going battle to get my little Levi to eat his veggies. I would shred the veggies, he would pick out the little shreds. I would cut the pieces into teeny tiny pieces, he would spit those out. I would try to hold out on any other food until he ate them. Well this little boy is very stubborn and he would out last me usually. I was almost at the point where I was ready to throw up my hands and give up. Who needs veggies any ways???? Well we all do and what kind of mamma would I be if I just let the little squirt eat chicken, or in our house, boc boc? So I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to get him to down his veggies. Today I am happy to share, I have a few tricks.

1. Stock up on Boathouse's carrot juice. Or if you have juicer, do it yourself. I add that stuff to his drinks everyday. 1/2 a cup is one serving of veggies.  I personally like to mix it with some OJ and water and he doesn't even notice it is in there. Every kid needs to drink so why not give him a little vitamin C mixed with Vitamin A, E & K!!!

2. Smoothies are the bomb!!! Levi is majorly teething right now so he is really enjoying cold drinks. I make him a green smoothie and put it in a green sippy cup so he doesn't know he is drinking green. I'm serious! He will not eat anything green. In my smoothie I add 1 cup of frozen Kale, 1/4 cup of OJ, 1/2 cup of carrot juice,  1 cup of frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup of frozen peaches, 1/2 cup of frozen bananas. I usually add in a little splash of water to smooth it out and if the strawberries are tart I add 1 tbsp of honey. I blend this so there are absolutely no lumps! Levi hates lumps! This smoothie is great. It makes enough for me and Levi. I get my veggies and fruit and so does my little veggie hater. Muuuahhhhaaaaa (evil mommy voice) I WIN!!! Now that the weather is warming up I may try to make popsicles out of this as well, I'm not sure if it will be a success because I can't hide the green but it's worth a shot.

 3. Baked goods is my other secret weapon. Levi is a big carb lover. He loves his bread, cookies and muffins. So why not sneak some veggie goodness into it? I found a great recipe the other day for veggie loaded muffins. I made some adjustments and it was perfect. I wasn't sure if Levi would go for them because the veggies were very evident, remember, he usually picks the shreds of zucchini out of my pasta sauce.  But he loved them, so much so, he ate two in one sitting. WHOOOhoo, yippeeeee!!!! Hurrayyyyyyy! another sneaky way to get him to eat his veggies.!!!! 
I thought I would share the recipe with you. P.s these muffins were awesome! Not just for the veggie factor, they were moist and very flavourful!

I really enjoy the health benefits of coconut oil as well as the flavour. But if coconut is not your thing you can find the original recipe here.

Try these today! I promise you will not be disappointed!

Linking Up at:
Naptime Creations
Chef in Training
Mandy's Recipe Box

spring simplicity

The weather this week is supposed to be very nice and I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of our time outside. With that being said I wanted to make sure I had a menu that could support our busy life so a lot of these meals are done with the crock pot or the bbq. I love that we can use our bbq now! I guess we could use it in the winter too but we are babies and we don't. I know a lot of Canadians that do though!

As I am writing this I can smell my crock pot pulled pork cooking away and let me tell you it smells good!!! I'm looking forward to it tonight! We just use a pork loin roast and then I throw in some bbq sauce and I let it slow cook all day long. I didn't even defrost the roast this morning. I just threw it in frozen. It's one of the easiest meals ever.

The marinated lime chicken is just that, chicken marinated with lime juice, garlic, s&p, and olive oil. Then we throw it on the bbq. Once it's done I pull apart the meat and put it on our naan. The naan is meant to be folded over like a sandwich. 

The Cajun chicken is a recipe I pinned a few months ago and I have been meaning to try it. I think it will be a good fast meal for Thursday night. If you would like to try it the link for it is here.

That's our week in a nutshell. Pretty simple but sometimes it's the simplest dishes that are the best.

Spring is here, cake to smash and a balloon ride

Spring is my favourite time of the year. The smell of fresh rain, the birds chirping, the flowers blooming and babies being born. My friend Julie is celebrating her son's 1st birthday this month.  And so, in honour of his birth, we captured this special moment in their lives with a cake smash photo shoot and then another outdoor session.  I just love capturing cake smash's. They are always so much fun. Mr. L was actually the first baby I have captured that did not want anything to do with his cake. He didn't like the taste or the feeling of the icing on his fingers. Poor little guy!!! I felt like I was torturing him with cake. Before the actual "smashing" of the cake I took some great pictures of just him. Usually he is a very smiley guy, but on this day he was sporting a rather serious disposition. He must have sensed we were about to do the cake torture. Haha, non the less I got some great shots.

 

 Mom and Mr. L! Such a pretty mamma but you can tell that little Mr. L totally takes after Dad!

 I made him this fun little party hat but it didn't last very long on his head!

Gotta love those bright blue eyes!!!

Then it was time for cake!

 By the way, I made the garland out of tissue paper. Here is a great tutorial in case you ever need to make tissue paper ball garland.

Poor little guy! He was not very happy about getting so dirty! I thought this was a cute outtake!

After the "cake torture" it was time to get cleaned up. I couldn't resist capturing some cute moments in the bathtub too!

After all that drama, I let Mr. L take a break. I met up with him and his family later in the evening during what photogs call the "golden hour". That is when the sun is starting to set and it creates a beautiful glow to pictures. I have been trying to master this type of photography. I really like the look it creates. I still have a long ways to go in mastering this technique. But like they say, practice makes perfect.

Mr. L's birthday theme is Dr. Seuss's Oh the places you will go. So we decided to put him in a basket with balloons tied to it. It was really cute.

Big sis got in on the action too!

This final picture is exactly the look of the "golden hour". See how the sun creates a golden halo around her head.

I loved taking these pictures. It was so much fun going through the creative process of the cake smash and then the outdoor pictures. Thanks so much again Julie for allowing me to capture your special moment in time.

Linking up here:
I should be Mopping the floor

Diy projects in the works

I have not done a thing to show you today! Nothing! Life has been so crazy these last few weeks I haven't even had time to clean my house.  I don't even want to walk on my floors without shoes they are so dirty. I'm hoping to actually get those done today! Every weekend seems to be filled up with family events or photo shoots. I'm not complaining, don't get me wrong. I love being busy I just need to figure out how to balance, work, play, family and chores. I may be busy but I have so many projects I want to do that I thought I would show the world my plans in hopes to motivate me to get my butt in gear. 

First off our garage is full of furniture I have been collecting over the years. I have been collecting these items in hopes to refurbish them and add them to my home. I inherited a beautiful armoire from my Aunt. Well actually right now it's not so beautiful, but it has beautiful lines and lots of potential. I plan on painting it a nice antique white and adding some crystal nobs to it. It will look great in my guestroom and will be a great storage area for all my photo props I've been accumulating. Eventually that guest room is probably going to turn into our bedroom so then I will have to use that armoire for an actual closet.

Last week I found a beautiful set of twin beds for the boys room. They look just like this bed.

By the way, this is a Jenny Lind bed you can buy at Land of Nod.

While they are not painted yet, they are in excellent condition. I got two bed frames for $50! I told my friend I was looking for this style and she found someone who was selling them on kijiji. It was fate. The lady who sold them to me was the nicest lady in the world. She has 4 kids almost ready to leave the nest. I think she was feeling nostalgic and very generous when she sold them to me. She originally wanted $50 a frame. I worked her down to $70 for the two frames and then by the time we had the beds in my car and I was ready to pay, I gave her the $70 and she gave me back $20. She said she remembers what it was like to be a young family and how hard it is. She is right it is hard. I was very grateful for her generosity.  It was an amazing deal. Paxton's bed frame that he has right now I literally took off the side of the road. My parents neighbour was getting rid of it. It was a really nice bed but not as nice as these new frames I snagged. We painted his bed midnight blue and it looks awesome. I'm kinda sad we are replacing it already. I'm hoping I kind find it a good home because my husband put a lot of love into painting that bed. But it will look so much better when the boys have matching beds. So my plan this summer is to paint the bed frames the same midnight blue.  Levi is already showing signs that he wants to sleep in a big boy bed so I think by the end of summer he will be ready. So now we just have to get the beds ready.

Project number 3 I would like to make some artwork for my home. I bought a really large canvas a few months ago and I'm dying to do something awesome with it.  I'm thinking of taking on this project.

If you want to join me and create this beauty here is the tutorial.
This is the song I sing to my little Levi every night before bed. It's very special to us.

I would also like to make something like this.

A wax paper chandelier for my front entry way. How cool is that?

I thought this would be a lot of fun to make as well. I need some swanky artwork for my bedroom.

 By the way, I found this girls blog just a few weeks ago and I'm in love with all of her projects. Her home is beautiful! You should  check her blog out at Live Love DIY. Here is the tutorial for this awesome little piece of artwork.

I probably won't get to all of these projects this summer but it's good to set goals. I hope to get lots done so that I have tonnes to share with you.

Menu Monday

Whew last week was a crazy busy week. I still can't believe I now have a 3 year old! Anyhoooo I'm back on track and with that I have a new menu for this week. It's amazing how much more organized I am when I create these menus. Last week I was rushing around to create meals on the fly and things were not very organized and well planned. Needless to say the boys did not eat the greatest. I much prefer to have everything planned out ahead of time.  So with that being said, this weeks menu!

 

I always have mixed reviews about Beef Stroganoff, sometimes I find the flavour to be a little too strong. My friend was telling me the other day that she tried the clubhouse mix for beef stroganoff in the slow cooker. Her family loved it, so I thought I would give it a try this week. It was good. I'm a big fan of meat cooked in the slow cooker, it always turns out very tender and flavourful.  If you don't want to use a clubhouse mix, here is another great recipe for it. I have used this recipe in the past. I actually forgot about it last night when I decided to make this version.  

I'm excited to have this skillet chicken. It was actually on my list to make last week but I never got around to it. See what I mean about being organized! If I stick to a plan we eat well. I love a good hearty, tomato based chicken dish. I hope the kids like it! I'm still having the hardest time getting Levi to eat his veggies. I like the idea of doing this dish in a skillet but Mondays are always really busy for us so I'm going to do it in the slow cooker.

The Linguini Sorentina recipe I stole from a restaurant I used to work at. It is a very simple pasta dish which I adore. It is just a blush sauce topped with bocconcini, fresh basil and Parmesan cheese. It's comfort food for me. 

Beef Goulash is a family favourite, and it's a great way for me to sneak some veggies into Levi. Shredded zuchinni and carrot, here we come! This is the recipe I use but I just add in the shredded veggies.

Thursday's meal is from a blog I follow called Six Sisters Stuff. They have awesome family meals all the time. I've been wanting to try these sliders for a while. I know they will be a hit here at home. 

What are you having this week? Anything good I should try?

A letter to Paxton - warning: super long cheesy post with lots of pictures

Dear Pax to the Max,

When I was pregnant with you, and Papa and I were trying to figure out a good name for you, one of our conditions was that this name had a good nickname to go with it. Little did we know that when naming you we were also giving you a name to match your disposition. Pax to the Max is a very clear description of you. Everything you do is full force! You love full force, you laugh full force, you play full force and you run at full force. When you smile it's ALWAYS a megawatt smile. It's gorgeous! You always give everything your best try. This is one of the many things I love about you.

 3 years ago today you gave me the best gift anyone could give me. You made me a mommy! Since I was a little girl all I have ever wanted to be is that. I never knew what it took to be one but I'm glad it is you that is teaching me how to be the best, most nurturing mother I can be. It still shocks me that it has already been 3 years since you came bursting into our lives. And let me tell you that is exactly how you entered this world! We almost didn't make it to the hospital! You were early and you were fast. Looking back at everything on that day, it makes perfect sense. You are Pax to the Max, you don't do anything at slow speed.

 (Photo Cred: Kelly Gemmell Photography)

(Photo cred: Kelly Gemmell Photography)

As a baby you were pretty easy going. You started sleeping through the night at 4 months. You were also eating solids at 4 months. And speaking of eating, if you were hungry, oh boy, you let us know! That was one thing that we noticed right away, you had a good set of lungs on you! You started crawling at 8 months and running at 10 months. Once you started to run (and I mean run, not walk) you never stopped.

 As a toddler, you started chattering away pretty early on. By the time you were two you were speaking in full sentences.  It is also around this time that you started a love affair with cars. Actually, I take that back, looking back on these pictures, your love of cars started around 15 months.

 (when you first discovered dinky cars: at the Hesler Cottage - 15 months old)

 (xmas, 2011)

 (summer of 2012)

 (March, 2013)

 Cars cars cars, that is all you ever wanted to play with and to this day it is still the only thing you really focus and play with.  We find cars everywhere, in my shoes, on the counter, under the table, beside the t.v., under your pillow, under MY pillow. You leave them around everywhere. You just love your cars. Maybe one day you will work with cars. Who knows?! Another love affair you have is with shoes. It's amazing, if I put a bin of your shoes out, I can guarantee you will be busy for a good 1/2 hour. You just love to try on shoes. Your shoes, my shoes, Papa's shoes, anyone who comes to our houses' shoes. I'm finding shoes everywhere in our house. It drives me crazy! Cars, shoes and planets. Planets are the last obsession you have. You are starting to grow out of this phase but for a long time you were obsessed with everything space, but especially the planets. You could tell us everything about them. Which one is the biggest, which one was the smallest, which one was the hottest etc... I could go on. It was a lot of fun learning along with you about space and the planets in our universe.

Now you are no longer considered a toddler you are a little boy.  A little boy that loves his cars and shoes.  You have the greatest laugh and the best smile. You are sneaky! You love your candy and you are what we call the suckie police. You are always on Levi when he is with his suckie. It drives you nuts that he gets a suckie and you don't so you make sure that when you are around, Levi is suckie-less. You love to watch The Backyardigans. Your favourite food next to candy, is veggies. You always eat your veggies first (another great quality about you). You are such a good eater, although it is very hard for you to eat a meal. It takes too much effort to sit still long enough to eat a full meal. You would much rather snack on the go. Your favourite colour is Purple and most recently Orange. Your best friends are Levi (forced by mom & papa), Chloe, Kenadee, Chantal and you adore your cousins. You love to have dance parties, build forts and watch movies.

You are the greatest little boy. You are so full of life and joy and we are so excited that you are a 3 year old. Good bye terrible two's (which were not that terrible at all)! We can't wait to see what adventures you get into this year!

We love you so much

xoxo Mommy, Papa & Levi