One way ticket Texas/France

Christmas Vacation

2011-01-15T01:46:00.000-06:00

How did over 2 months go by since my last entry. Didn't even see the last 2 months go by actually. We had a really nice Christmas -- Christmas Eve was at our house with my parent-in-laws. We went to late mass -- it was a beautiful and lively service, which was a nice change -- lots of singing and music. Christmas day was at my brother-in-law's new house. Unfortunately for their first Christmas, the twins got nasty colds and we pretty miserable -- poor guys :( Fun, food and family basically sums up the day. I sneaked back home to try calling and skyping. Unfortuanetly I couldn't get any lines out to England, but I did catch a lot of my family on skype and it was fun seeing everyone.

The next morning w left early to head to the Pyrennees mountains in the south of France. I was a 5 hour drive -- the girls did well since they have lots of new toys to play with and new dvd's to watch. We stayed for a week and it was so nice to get away from everything. The weather was amazing -- lots of sun, not too cold and we actually picnic-ed in the snow almost everyday. I actually didn't bring my camera with me much, I usually just had my little video camera with me that also takes pictures, but I haven't downloaded them yet since I still need to charge the battery. So we went sledding, visited the little mountain towns, went cross country skiing, checked out the look English pub and Alison, Teddy and I went for a 3 and a half hour snowshoe hike. We enjoyed the area so much that we book the same little appartement for next year at the same time but only for 5 days we can get back for new year's. One of my Christmas present was paragliding, which I have always wanted to do. It was just so amzing gliding over the mountains, seeing the snow capped peaks and the lakes was just undescribable. Since I do need to get ready for work I will leave you so pictures I just downloaded..

The snowman we made the first day

Leïla loved the snow -- last time we went to the mountains in the winter she was 2 and didn't get to enjoy it much

Sisterly love -- resting up after sledding for hours

And then they went back at it

A beautiful waterfall near the "pont d'espagne" -- the bridge to Spain

A tired Alison after the snowshoe hike

At the summet on our hike

Same

Catch out the sunburn -- it was so sunny that day and it was really warm

Sigh

2010-11-07T07:03:00.000-06:00

I swear I do want to update and keep up with my blog but I just haven't had the time -- stick with me -- it will get better this winter and since I have made it through my first year of business made I will slowly figure out how to better organize my professional/personal life

So here is a quick run down of what has been going on over the last 6 weeks or so.

A quick pictures of our nephewsat wedding I was doing in early Sept.

Sami's 7th birthday

A picture for hubby's grandmother's 85th birthday -- her 6 greatgrand children

Leïla's very late and quick 4 year old session. These haven't been properly editted yet

Such a Leïla look

We had a great visit from my dad and stepmom -- the weather was perfect the whole time they were here and we all loved having them around. The girls loved having extra playmates! :)

On my birthday Alison and I went by train to Paris since she was flying back with her grandparents for her first solo trip. Since I was already in Paris I figured I would try my luck flying stand-by to see my first niece that is already 4.5 months old. She is just the most precious thing and even though I only stayed three days my bro and sister-law showed me around Toronto and I got to love on their sweet little girl.

They are nut cases!

Flew back to Paris where hubby met me and he planned a "surprise" weekend in Paris for my birthday.

We saw the Eiffle tower all lit up at night and we had an amazing dinner cruise on the seine and saw all the parien monuments lit up.

The next day we did some showing and walked through the Luxumboug gardens and then went to the Musée D'Orsay

And on Sunday before we left we visited the Opera house -- I had never been there but it was so amzing. If you are ever in Paris it is a "must see"!

our hotel was in walking distance of the Sacre Coeur. The weather was perfect the whole time! We were really lucky since fall here is usually rainy and yucky!

We got back in time to take Sami and Leïlka trick or treating around the neighborhood. Alison just got back yesterday and is suffering from serious jet lag but she is still trying to get all her homework done for tomorrow. Next week is only a three day we followed by a long weekend. We will be going to Carcasonne with a group of friends -- I will have to work some but it should be fun just the same.

Birthday Girls

2010-09-06T10:15:00.000-05:00

Updates in pictures! Wow -- it is already September, where did August go? and July for that matter!

August is a big birthday month, and it is also the month when a lot of French are on vacation. So Teddy had 3 weeks off, we were gone for one week and during the other two weeks he was a stay at home dad! He was surprised that he didn't get as many projects as planned done during those 2 weeks.

So this is where the pictures start :

The Aug b-day girls while were were on vacation near Toulouse

Leïla swipping Sami's sunglasses

Our family portrait for 2010 -- I always do one while we are on vacation -- this was on the hill right behind the house we stayed in!

Aug 16th -- Leïla's 4th b-day! Opening her present from Grandma and Grandpa

Blowing out her candles while wearing here flamigo dancer costum (you see what we got her in my next post along with a video)

Aug 27th -- Alison's 10th b-day! She just opened her present from Grammy -- and new leotard fro gymnastics

Trying it out

And again!

I did make her cake (bought Leïla's :( -- bad momma!)

Blew out all ten candles!

Sept 2nd -- back to school.

Alison is now in 6th -- junior high already! The first day there were one 6th graders

Sami and Leïla left for their first day over an hour and a half later.

Leïla's in pre-K and Sami is in 2nd grade

They all had a great first day -- Alison just loves junior high -- she is so happy. Sami is glad to be back with her friends and Leïla just went on like school never staopped!

I have been working no-stop -- three more hard weeks and then things should slow down. In less than 10 days will be my businesses 1 year anniversary! This year has flown by. If you want to see some of my recent work (mostly weddings) you can go to my business blog http://jillbrochardphoto.blogspot.com/

Vaction Part Two

2010-08-13T01:51:00.000-05:00

Hey I kept my word and came back to show some more pictures from our trip.

So on Wed we went to Toulouse -- "la Ville Rose" -- the Pink City. I was totally expecting it to be Pink, but it is more red. The majority of the buildings are made out of brick, which isn't that common in most of France. I wondered around the city, when to the Cathedrale, and took a boat ride down the Garonne and the canal system that runs through the middle of the city. We had lunch in a nice little restaurant. Teddy had cassolet, which it the typical dish from Touslouse.

Thursday we visited a couple of the small towns and we went to visit a Chateau that was built in 1545. In the chateau there is a picture withe the Queen mother and Queen Elizabeth with the owners of the chateau, which was pretty cool.

Wondering out in the countryside

Just to prove that I'm here too!

Thursday we drove down to Spain, but the weather was pretty iffy all day. It drizzled on and off and it was pretty chilly. The clounds we low down on the mountains. But we had time to do some shopping -- got Alison a backpack for school and of coarse various aperatifs to bring back (kinda like dutyfree shopping for us!)

See how low the clouds were!

So today is our last day -- we want to do a little hike with the girls this morning and this afternoon we want to take them to a lake to swim, play, etc. Tehn tomorrow morning we will be driving back home. Supposed to be a 5 and a half hour drive, but there will be a lot of traffic so it will probably take an hour or two more.

Bad bad blogger!

2010-08-09T15:27:00.000-05:00

I have been so bad about updating. Wedding season is killing me, the days are long, days go into weeks and . . . But we are doing some fun things -- though I tend not to take my camera with me since I'm not working -- I know bad momma now!

So this week we are on vacation about an hour from Toulouse. We are out in the countryside. There are 3 other girls the same age as Sami and Alison that are staying at the house next to ours. All of the kids have been playing in the pool together and have been having a lot of fun.

Just a quick run down of some pictures I took of the girls today (except for the first one which I took a week ago at the beach)

I love this shot -- it is finally getting easier to get a picture of all three together!

We went to a lake that had a sandy beach, but unfortunately the girls couldn't go in the water -- the lake didn't pass its quality control for the afternoon so no one was allow in. They had fun just the same on the beach

Always doing some type of gymnastics!

She has some killer eyes -- I was actually going to darken them because they looked so fake and freaky looking

Such a typical Leïla face!

Hopefully I will have some more pictures to share from our vacation over the next few days.

Tomorrow we are off to Toulouse for the day, them hopefully a day in Spain too.

What a week!

2010-06-25T11:57:00.001-05:00

What an amazing week -- so many exciting things have been happening in my family. Let's start with what happened first. After a 2 year engagement, my step brother married the sweetest and cutest girl (no get ready to drool) in Jamaica!!! I have seen some of the pictures and it is just AMAZING! They look so happy, the bride was drop dead gorgeous and the groom was grinning from ear to ear

Second exciting thing for my family -- my brother in law's twins spent their first night away from home . . . at our place!! Its just too bad that those little stinkers slept almost the whole time -- yes they are sleeping 12+ hours at night at jut 3 months.

Third exciting thing -- I won a drawing for am Amercian gift basket from MyAmericanMarket.com (a French shop that sell real American goods) I got a six pack of diet dr pepper, different types of candy, oreo pop tarts, pancake mix and syrup, and lots of other fun stuff

And last but definately not the least -- my brother and sister in law welcome in to their family the most beautiful baby girl in the whole wide world. She kept us all waiting as she was born 2 weeks after her due date and over a day after they started the induction process. Those last couple days, I was pretty jumpy every time the phone rang. But Tessa Marin arrived safely on June 21st -- the first day of summer! I love seeing pictures and videos of her, but I hope I will figure out a way to go and see her in person in Canada.

The girls still have one more week of school to go -- the weather is finally starting to feel summer-ish, and I have started my wedding marathon -- 18 weddings between mid May until the end of September. Everyone is happy and healthy and we feel blessed. What a great week it has been!

P.S. the wedding pictures and my niece's pictures aren't mine but I watermarked them just the same to protect the images

Slackin' again

2010-06-17T04:43:00.000-05:00

Lots of stuff has been going on. On June 6th, Alison and Samantha had their last county gymnastics competition. It was a long day, Sami's group started at 8am, Alison's t 9:30 and the results were at 5:30pm. I was judging all day, so it went by pretty fast. Sami did pretty well -- no falls, but so small mistakes. Alison did really well. After watching the girls I knew there was going to have tears at the end of the day, and I was right. Alison won gold medal and has the official title of "Championne de Vendée" and poor Sami didn't place. It was a hard life lesson to learn. She so wants to be better than Alison but forgets that she is three years younger. Her coach told me that Sami will go far and has been progressing a lot because she soooooo wants to beat her sister.

Last week we had a 13 year old Slovak stay with us. She spoke NO French and only very basic English. It was hard to communicate, but once we started using an online instant translater, things got easier. Alison loved having her, and we might do it again next year. She brought brochures about her country and it looks so beautiful, mountains, castles . . . Here is a picture of the girls with Kiya just before she left

A couple weekends ago the fire depratement had an openhouse and they asked if I would take pictures of the kids dressed up in the firefighter gear. Of coarse my kids didn't want to do it -- Alison finally let me take a picture of her and at the end of the afternoon so did Leïla, but Sami was not having it -- she was having too much fun hanging out with her friends.

Still a lot of work here -- if you check out my biz blog and scroll down a little you can see the sneak peak from my friend Sarah's baby's newborn session. At the beginning of next week I will be post my latest bridal session, but can't show any until the wedding is over (Sat). Oh and I will probably have some twin pictures to share since I will be babaysitting them Sat afternoon/night and Sunday Morning.
And just waiting on my niece to make her grand entrance -- my sister-in-law is offically 10 days overdue!

Our little weekend trip

2010-06-03T03:24:00.000-05:00

Whoa -- two posts in one week -- been awhile since that has happened. So last weekend we took the girls to the Futuroscope, an amusement park with various Imax type things and rides. The girls didn't know where we were going so it was a big surprise for them. We left Sat afternoon, got an evening pass to the park. We did some rides, had dinner and watched the night time laser/water show. It ended around 11:30pm, we walked back to our hotel (and carried a sleeping Leïla) and all crashed. The next morning we had breakfast and headed back to the park at 10am for the opening. We were able to do all the attractions, though some Leïla couldn't do because she wasn't tall enough, but she didn't mind, she just enjoying looking around. We headed home around 6pm and Leïla and Sami crashed in the car and only woke up after 2 hours and we were pulling in the drive.

Before going to the amusement park, we went to the maternity ward to see our good friends newborn -- he is so precious -- such a perfectly round head and the softest black fuzz hair.

Sami's first gymnastics competition

2010-06-01T07:40:00.000-05:00

So still catching up, but I wanted to show these videos just the same. Sami had her first team competition on May 9th. I was judging so I didn't get to see much of her performance. Luckily Alison filmed some for me. She is still wobbly and has quiet a few small mistakes (not pointing her toes, not keeping her legs straight, etc) but all in all she did well. She earned a blue badge (level 3 out of 5 -- which is really good considering its her first year competing)

Alison was also competitng. I asked Sami to film Alison so I could see how she did and this is the best that she got (you can stop after 15s unless you really want to see shoes and listen to Sami chatting)
Alison got a tricolor badge (5th out of 5 levels) Her floor exercise and balance beam were almost flawless.

At the end of the day the team results were given and LES HERBIERS gymnastics teams all took first place -- once again the champions of our departement. They were all really awsome and deserved to win first place! So next competition is June 6th -- so look for some updates!

Picture overload

2010-05-24T05:40:00.001-05:00

Playing catch up again -- so here is a major picture overload. Since Teddy and I have been working a lot, we have decided to block certain days or weekend to do special activites with the girls. So on Easter Monday (yeah -- I'm behind, just downloaded them) we took the girls to a small amusement park/fair -- it was the first day it was open for the season so there weren't many people which was nice. We had a picnic and played all day -- the girls loved it and we were exhausted

Love this picture of the two of them -- Alison, Leila and I were in another bumper boat

I think we need to join the biggest loser, don't you ;) Those mirrors can be scary!

the 13th of May was a holiday so the girls had a long weekend so we went to La Rochelle for two nights. We also had Leïla's class mascot, with us, so he is in most of the pictures. It was chilly the first day but the next day it was warm out, and we had lunch outside looking over the beach

I have a couple of videos to share of Sami's first gymnastics competition, so check back in!

(you can also click on my biz blog to see some pictures of the first wedding of the season!)

Whoa -- it's been a month!

2010-05-07T03:24:00.001-05:00

I have not seen the last month go by. Seriously, it is May already, wedding season is starting in a week and I am feeling overwhelmed. Add on to that that it is tax season until the end of May, which means long days for hubby ( got home at midnight on Tuesday, and 9:30pm on Thursday). So all down time is spent with the girls. We have been doing some outings with them (I took pictures but haven't downloaded them yet)

So I am trying to back track -- on April 11th -- Alison's gymnastic's went to the regional competition (there were only 3 teams per county). They started off on the beam and Alison went first, and the stress got the best of her and she fell twice on her entry on the beam, but she sucked it up and went on to do a flawless exercise on the beam (then she cried in her coach's arms) Luckily they only keep 4 out of the 6 scores, so Alison knew that she did do too much damage. She then when to the floor where she rocked (see video), the horse and she finished on the uneven bars (see video)

After their rotation we hung out waiting for the results. Their team was awsome and pulled in 3rd place but with less that a point difference with first place team. It is pretty amazing since her gymnastics club is pretty small and they beat out a lot of big city clubs. She has been on a gymnastics high ever since. Sunday Alison and Sami will be competing in an individual competition.

And here is a little video to show you Leïla's new "talent" -- I tried to get her to do the twist at the end -- usually she does the twist while she sings. She kinda has the rocker style going on -- I keep on thinking that she is going to smash her guitar on the floor at the end.....

Happy Easter!

2010-04-07T10:37:00.004-05:00

Easter is nothing like it is in the US -- no major egg hunts, no Easter dresses, no plastic grass for the cat to choke on, and the Easter bunny is replaced by the Easter bells -- basically when the church bells ring in Italy chocolate eggs are scattered all around. On top of all that the weather was not the greatest -- the girls got a light shower while looking for their eggs at our house. And we were stuck in the car for 5 minutes when we got to my inlaws because of a short hail storm. We waited until things calmed down before they went looking for the chocolate eggs that were put out before the storm. They ended up getting rained on again, but didn't really mind.

We spent the rest of the day sitting around a good meal while the girls were getting a sugar high, and cuddled the little babies. Here are a couple pictures of the afternoon (Sami was running from the camera)

Noan

Noan

Anaé

This was taken by Sami!

What a champion | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

2010-03-31T11:24:00.004-05:00

Leïla's medical adventure kinda took over our life and I haven't updated my blog, even though we have had some exciting things happen, so the next couple enties will be flashbacks ;)

So 2 weeks ago Alison had the departemental gymnastics competition. Alison was selected to compete for her team (they sent two teams of 6 gymists. I was judging the balance beam this year. Last year at the same competition, The "Les Herbiers" gymnastics won third place. During the competition, we could tell that our team was very strong. And we (the other judges and myself) were right -- Les Herbiers took 1st and 2nd place!! And they are now qualified for the regionale competition that will take place in two weeks. Alison rocked the house -- especially her floor exercise -- 15.8/16 Amazing. Alison's team placed 1st and won a trophey and each gymnist has had it for a week. Alison had it last week -- so I snapped some pictures (I didn't take my camera with me to the competition -- stupid me!)

This was her idea!

Good news

2010-03-27T01:33:00.003-05:00

So far all of Leïla's test have come back fine, we are just waiting on one more, but since it isn't anything serious, looks like there is nothing to worry about. We will probably have to go back to the dr soon to try to figure out what is going on, but since everything serious has been ruled out, we are breathing easier. She feels just fine and has zero pain, just these strange glands. So we will see what become of this, but for now we are just relieved that her blood tests are good. Thanks for all you positive thoughts...

The vampires are coming

2010-03-25T00:43:00.002-05:00

Poor Leïla is getting her first blood test this morning -- luckily she has 2 Elma patches on her arms, and shouldn't feel a thing. Over the last 3.5 month I have discovered several swollen glands on her neck of all different sizes, some the size of a half-dollar other as small as peas. Besides these glands, she has been feeling fine. So took her in to see the dr Tuesday evening, he found the swollen glands on her neck but also under her armpits, on her stomach, her thighes and behind her knees. So this morning the nurse is goin to the house to draw her blood. We are hoping that it is nothing serious, but we know it could be. Last night was a sleepless night for us, and tonight will probably be too (unless we get the results tonight). So we are just trying to have positive thoughts for our little Leïla Lou . . . . to be continued. . .

Just some pictures from our trip

2010-03-18T07:21:00.002-05:00

We had such an amazing trip to Texas. The girls learnt so much in a such a short period of time. They got a real feeling for the Texas lifestyle and Sami wanted to move there -- though she also wanted to buy a private jet to fly across the ocean when ever she wants. One of the greatest things is they enjoyed playing with my friends' kids. Oh and one of Leïla favorite moments was going to have lunch at Hunter's school (Sarah's oldest son) -- she thought it was the coolest thing -- especially since ou get milk with your lunch. We all have such happy memories and it was so hard to say goodbye to everyone. My heartache during the flight home.

Here they are! | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

2010-03-16T12:24:00.005-05:00

The proud cousins!! | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

2010-03-16T05:55:00.002-05:00

Yeah -- they are here!! Early Sunday morning (2am) my sister-in-law's water broke and after a very long labor and difficult birth, two little healthy BOYS were born! Noan was first and weighed in at 2.550kg (around 5lbs 10oz) and over a half hour later Anaé was born and weighed 2.800kg (around 6lbs 4oz). I will be going to see them at the hospital this afternoon, so stay tuned for some pictures!! Mom and babes should be home Thursday or Friday! We are all happy that they are here and are healthy! Oh, and they look NOTHING alike!

Yeeeeeehaw!! | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

2010-03-08T10:04:00.003-06:00

We went to the rodeo while we were in Houston and the girls became real cowgirls, and here are some videos to prove it

Sami mutton bustin'!

And Alison bull ridin' --yeehaw!!

Howdy! | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

2010-02-27T15:05:00.005-06:00

Can't get much more Texan than Rodeo. This morning was the Houston rodeo parade. Though I was born and raised in Houston, this was the first time I have been to see the parade. You just don't see parades in France, so I was excited to be able to take the kids. They love seeing the horses, the trailrides, the cowboys, but what all three of them loved the most was the high school bands/cheerleaders. They were so taken with them, and just couldn't believe that kids do things like that in high school. I think the kids make me realize how different it is here compared to where we live in France -- and it is usually just the little things, stuff we don't think about. ANyways, here is just a little look of the rodeo parade (front row seats!). Next week we are going to be going to the rodeo! Can't wait!

We're in Texas | Photogarphe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

2010-02-24T05:50:00.003-06:00

Last Sat. we left our house at 4:30am for a long trip to the US. We flew out of Nantes to Amsterdam and after a 2.5 hour lay over we flew on to Houston. When we arrived it was 70 degrees out which was a nice change to the freezing weather we had when we left. So we have been taking advantage of the warmth, as you can see in these pictures....

After two days of temps in the 70's, it has dropped to freezing and there was a risk of snow! Crazy! Luckily it should get back up to the 60's in the next couple days. So the plan is to spend the most time with friends and family and have fun with the girls -- the fun has already started as the girls got to play with my best friend's kids while we enjoyed an amaze dinner my friend made -- she's the Martha Stewart of Houston. Yesterday Grandma and Grandpa took the girls to one of those blow up castle places -- they had a blast. Sat is the Rodeo Parade and next week we will spend a day at the livestock show and rodoe. Plus I have to do all my editting for my clients and get the orders off while I am here, so busy busy busy! Now if we could just get over the jet lag!

Just some pictures | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

2010-02-14T12:52:00.005-06:00

I was leaving for a photo shot and all three of the girls were in the bath so I snapped some quick pictures. As much as they bicker, they do generally get along

Keep on bakin'! | Photographe Vendée Photographe Les Herbiers Photographe Chantonnay

2010-01-29T06:24:00.002-06:00

Keep on bakin' and that's an order! A bit of a scary time for my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Looks like the twins started thinking about finding a way out. It is waaaaay too early, since she is barely at 31 weeks. So yesterday she was amitted into the hospital, got a steriod shot for the lung development and is on strict bed rest at the hospital. Looks like they have been able to stop the contractions, but they haven't had anymore news. We will be going see her tomorrow. So some positive baking vibes would be great -- She isn't due until the beginning of April, but the dr would be very happy if she holds on until the beginning of March -- I hope the babies stay put until at least March 6th, not only because that would be awsome for the babies but because I will be back from my trip by then. Hang in there guys, it is warmer where you are than outside where it is way too cold -- wait until spring!!!

(this picture was taken just 2 weeks ago)

A favor please?? --Could you vote for you favorite picture

2010-01-28T02:41:00.002-06:00

I am having my first contest on my business blog to thank my clients from 2009. Would you take a second and vote -- just leave a comment (if you have a google ID that's great, other wise you can just type you name in the comment.) Just so my clients understand could you do it in French (here is a phrase : je vote pour n°____ I vote for number _____) Thanks for you help -- here is the link

Proud Momma! | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

2010-01-25T01:43:00.003-06:00

What a weekend -- non-stop for three days straight. But very exciting weekend just the same. Friday evening we had an offical inaguration for my studio. We had to keep it small, since my studio is just not that big. So we invitied our closest friends, our neighbors, my in-laws and brother-in-law & sister-in-law and the two couples who hired me for their weddings last Sept. We will be holding another one where we will be inviting all the local shop owners, the mayor and such. While I was working during the afternoon, I was touched when the florist delivered two beautiful flower arrangements -- one from my loving hubby and another from a close friend. Friday evening went off without a hitch, just wish my American friends and family could have been there :( Moments like that always make me a little homesick. (the frames I hung in my studio to show some of my work)
On Sat, the girls' gymnastics club held their annual interclub competition. This was Samantha first competition and she was a bit nervous and Alison was totally stressing out just before. I was judging the balance beam this year. After a long afternoon of gymnastics -- the winners were announced by group. Sami won the bronze, and her two other close friends from Mouchamps won the silver and the gold. Alison took the gold in her catagory and her best friend also tokk the gold in her group. The gymnastists from Mouchamps rocked!! (we don't have a club in our town so we have to go to the next town over) Sami has only taken her medal off for her shower and to sleep -- she is still beaming! I'm so proud of my girls!

Sunday was our big school fundraiser -- we do a type of bingo (called loto here). Unfortunately not many parents came to help the school and we had alot less people than usual. Which basically means the kids won't get to do some of their activities -- I just wish the parents understood how important it is to participate in our fundraisers -- the money goes directly to their kids -- to take trips, to have better equipement .... but it doesn't seem to sink in. So our small group of PTA worked our *beeps* off, but it looks like it just isn't enough. We are all wiped out, and a little depressed about the whole situation. At least one of my friends that came won something, so not all is lost!

We're getting better | Photographe Vendée

2010-01-19T12:01:00.003-06:00

Well, at least I thought we were. But I will get to that later. I have pity for anyone who has back problems -- I can't believe how the pain has taken over the last week of my life. After my x-rays, I went to a physical therapist and then to a chiropractor -- wow, the chiropractor popped and pushed and wiggled eveything around. When she was finished she said no lifting, no cleaning and no car for four days. At first I didn't think anything of it -- but man was she right, for four day I couldn't do anything -- yesterday was a little better and today is almost back to normal. I still have 10 weeks of phsical therapy and another appointment with the chiropractor next week. So now that that is taken care of I thought we would get everything going again. Unfortunately when I picked the girls up from school Leïla had that sick whiney hiney look to her. We have been home for a couple hours and she is coughing sneezing and is starting to have a fever. I just hope it is short lived -- she is not a good patient at all. She doesn't sleep well when she is sick, so she is very grumpy, she doesn't know what she wants and just whines all day. So we will see -- here is a quick picture I took of her this evening. Sami was jealous and wanted to have her picture taken too (Alison at gymnastics)

On a happier note -- I got a new lens!!! Canon 85mm 1.8 (the two pictures were taken with is). So far I LOVE it!! I sold my 135mm because I hardly ever used and I really wanted this one -- I totally think I made the right choice. I can't wait to play with it outside -- be it will have to warm up a bit first!!!

Counting my blessings | Photographe Vendée

2010-01-11T01:36:00.000-06:00

I am so thankful that over the last 9.5 years of being a parent that we haven't had sickies as much as we have had this year. I know a lot of friends have dealt with sick kiddlets from day one, by in our household we have always been pretty darn lucky. Well winter 2009/2010 is reminding us of our luck so far. Almost everyone in the family has been hit -- Leïla is the only one that hasn't gotten anything too major.

I have been suffering with daily headaches/migraines for the last 1.5/2 months. I kept on putting off going to the dr since I could control the pain with pain killers and it was my very busy period so I figured I would wait until things slowed down. The day after Christmas I got the crud I posted about. Sami had the stomach flu. Now hubby got the stomach flu, shared with me and Alison woke up with it this morning. All fun and games! So with our present state there aren't many pictures to share so I will play catch up and post some videos from Dec!

Alison and Sami participated in the Gymnastic Gala -- they do some dances and gymnastics to show the parents/grandparents what they do during the year.

The first video is just handstands -- Sami is the blond in the foreground and Alison is the blond in the second line

Sami is the skinny blond withe the orange tee-shirt

Alison is on the far left

Trying something new | Photographe Vendée

2010-01-08T11:15:00.002-06:00

It is so freaking cold that I can't stay on the computer in the sunroom for more than a couple of minutes, even with the heat on full blast. So I am on my new work laptop, and most of my pictures aren't on this computer, so I am trying to share pictures of my studio in a different way.

PICTURES HERE

So as you can see it isn't that big but it is just the right size for me. I have already had 5 sessions in my studio and I love having a real studio. It is nice not having my clients come to my house and having more space to take pictures. My studio is open 3 half days a week and otherwise by appointment. We are still doing some last minute touch-ups (like today there is finally a door on the bathroom!!) So there you have it -- a new adventure has begun!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! | Photographe Vendée

2010-01-02T00:39:00.005-06:00

A bunch of pictures from Christmas morning

The best word to describe Christmas 2009 : ILLNESS :( How to kill the holiday spirit, huh? We were actually pretty lucky since we were still able to do our Christmas stuff. On Christmas Eve we had a seafood platter with my parent-in-laws before heading out for the Christmas service. During the service I discovered a quarter-sized cyst on Leïla's neck. I did some research and it seems like it is common but I will be taking her to the dr after the holidays. When we got home the girls opened their stockings and a gift that had PJ's in them. So after desert and then excitement died down everyone headed off to bed. At around 2am, we were woken by Sami would came into our room crying. She threw up in her bed and was devastated. She was covered from head to toe. She was sad that she dirtied her new PJ's .... So I went to check out her room -- OMG! She really was sick!! All over the top bunk, bottom bunk and the matress underneather her bed. The floor was covered..... So I cleaned Sami up and had she go and sleep in Alison's room. I then cleaned up her room and went back to bed. At 7:30 Sami woke us up to tell up that she was sick of throwing up. Poor thing didn't wake us up and just got up and went to the bathroom all night long. She fell asleep in my bed but woke up often to make a run for it. She wasn't even interested in opening gifts until 10am. Christmas morning Santa bring all the girls international gifts to the house, so around 10am we got Leïla up and started to open gifts. It was nice to seee a smile on Sami's face (though you can see how pale she looks!). The girls received a lot of fun gifts, especially one you can't find here. The girls played with their new things and at noon we went to my inlaws for our big Christmas lunch -- and more gifts (that is we Santa leaves the majority of the gifts. Sami missed out on most of the day and slept the day away.

The next day Sami was feeling better, but I woke up with a fever and a cold. Luckily I didn't have a cough, but I got hit was a major migrain. So now 8 days later I still feel like crud. Yesterday I sucked it up and called the dr -- closed! So it will have to wait until tomorrow. I am taking pain medicine for my headache, but I can tell something is wrong. Hopefully the dr will figure it out and I will be painfree very soon.

Though the illnesses put a damper on our holidays, we still got to spend time with friends and family. Hubby and his father laid the wood florring in my studio and I did my first two photo session in it (though the hallway isn't finished yet). We went to Ikea to get some furniture and all the finishing touches should be done this week. I will post some pictures in my next post. School starts back up tomorrow so I better go and get dinner ready for the girls. Happy New Years to all of you, wishing that your dreams come true, and even if they don't, that you are happy and having fun trying!

Starting Christmas-y stuff | Photographe Vendée

2009-12-09T12:27:00.003-06:00

We are starting to get into the Christmas rush here -- but for once I am done with my Christmas shopping. The only thing I have left to pick up is stocking stuffers for my secrect stocking buddy (every year with hubby's family, we draw name so we each do someone else's stocking) but I have some ideas and know where to get them so thee hard part is done. Nothing is wrapped yet, and I hope to do that before the girls get out of school on the 18th.

So last Sat was pretty busy. I have a photo shoot that morning and that afternoon was hubby's company Christmas party for the kids. They had a show and then Santa came an made an appearence. I was hired to take individual pictures of each kid with Santa. Just in case you are wondering, Leïla was there but she would not get near the big jolly old fellow. She screamed -- such a wimp at times. But as soon as we left she started naming off all the things Santa is going to bring her..... I think she needs a little lesson in cause and effect!

Today, since the girls don't have school on Wed's, we started our Christmas baking. We made fudge, cocoa oat balls and m&m cookies to start with. I will continue to do some baking while they are in school and next week my brother and sister-in-law will be flying in from Canada for a visit -- with baking products!! Yeah!! I will be able to make hershey kiss cookies this year! It is going to be awsome having family here just before Christmas. Can't wait to see you guys!! I better run and head off to my step aerobics class (hoping my migraine I have had for 2 days won't kill me during the class). I will get some pictures of our tree and landscaping and outdoor lighting once it all gets finished -- everything is started but not much is finished!

What has been taking up my time, | Photographe Vendée, Photographe mariage Vendée

2009-12-04T08:21:00.003-06:00

So here it is -- well at least the outside of it -- my future studio, the thing that is frying my brain, stressing me out and racking havoc on my sleep! Wed, my friend Lucie and I put up my window covering -- so much harder than you would ever imagine! Luckily Lucie is very patient and calm because I wanted to rip the whole thing into pieces after the first 30 minutes. It took almost 2 hours but it is now up. I can't show the inside yet since it is still under construction. The elctrical work should be done by the end of the week, then the painter has to come and on Christmas eve hubby and his bro will be laying the wood flooring. Hopefully, I will be moving everything in between Christmas and New Year's and will be open for business on Jan 1st, 2010. Hopefully 2010 will be a good year for us! Need to run, since Sami has her 1st slumber party tonight and I don't have everything ready yet --- ACCCCKKK!

Rambling | Photographe Vendée, Photographe mariage Vendée

2009-11-24T10:51:00.003-06:00

I'm having brain overload lately so the entry might seem a little "all over the place" which is how I have been feeling over the last 3 months. So I am doing a quick entry in between mopping, picking up Alison from her kid council meeting -- don't even remeber if I said anything about her being elected again -- and then a meeting with our insurance lady to see about insuring the studio, my equipemnt, etc.

Anyways, this morning I found out the 10% of the girls' school is absenyt because of "flu-like" symptoms. No clue if it is the regular flu, swine flu, or just a plain old crud. So we are just waiting to see if it is going to hit our household. So far they haven't said anything about closing the school since there are other schools in worse shape.

The restorational work on my studio has started. I stopped in today to clear some stuff up with the electrician. The carpet has already been ripped up, the dividing wall has been knocked down and I saw the bathroom sink was sitting out on the curb. I am really excited about getting the studio, the girls are excited about getting their playroom back, but there is a bit of work before that happens. Hubby and his brother will be doing a lot of work in it between Christmas and new year's.

The girls are starting to get excited about Christmas. They can't wait until all the lights go up. I have no clue when I am going to get my decoration up. I am still scared that I am going to find Mr mouse and his family in my Christmas stuff, so maybe that is why I am not that eager. I am millions of light years away from finishing my Christmas shopping. Maybe I just need to blast some Christmas CD's in the house and in the car to get me in the mood.

Thursday is Thanksgiving. Hmmmmmm what will I be doing???? Well I will have 2 photo sessions to work on. The girls don't come home for lunch and hubby has a late meeting. I guess I could treat myself to fine American cuisine (aka McDonald's since that is all that is around), but I figure I will just stay in and finish my work. But I will be going to a T-day celebration with some of my American friends on Sunday, and there will be turkey and all the trimmings. I am suppose to come up with a T-day activity for the kids -- they are all around Alison's age and Leïla is the youngest. I suck at coming up with crafty ideas! Anyone know of any???

Sat, if the rain holds off, we might actually be doing the planting for our landscaping. The grass is beautiful and now we are getting ready to plant -- this is the fun part where it will all sorta come together. So if there isn't any rain -- and seriously it can't rain since we have had days and days and days of pouring rain -- there might be pictures up on Mon.

On a much sadder note, we found out that a very dear person in our little town past away after battling with cancer at the age of 53. He was a volunteer firefighter for many years -- he was "retiring" this year --- he was one of my brother-in-law's closest friends' father. We are all sad, and a bit in shock. He was doing better and then last Thursday he was admitted into the hospital. My heart aches for his wife, his kids and his two little grandkids (I took their family pictures last spring) :(

Hey -- ya never know!!!

2009-11-16T06:14:00.001-06:00

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Happy Halloween | Photographe Vendée

2009-11-13T00:01:00.002-06:00

Yeah, I know it is a bit late (like a lot of the things I do lately) but I still wanted to share a couple pictures of the girls' Halloween.

Before leaving for daycareThis picture is very typical of Leïla right now! Here the costums aren't that great -- just scary stuff. Though I did have a ladybug costum I bought for Alison when she was 14 months old and that one of my girls has worn ever year up until now :( The Friday before Halloween all three girls went to the daycare center since there was a Halloween party and they went trick or treating all together. Sat they went treat or treating in our neighborhood with some friends, cousins and neighbors. They had fun running from house to house. After that we went to a friends house for dinner and the kids all played together and enjoyed their sugar high. Can you believe that Leïla finished ALL her candy in 4 days -- that girl is a candy machine. Then she hit up Alison for her candy (Alison isn't that big into candy) It isn't like Leïla really needs more energy!!!

Newspaper article | Photographe Vendée

2009-11-09T08:12:00.002-06:00

Last week I was in the newspaper -- a journalist came an interviewed me for the regional newspaper a week or so beforehand. She told me to contact her when my studio opens in Jan. She was so sweet and wrote a really nice and positive article.

Ouest France : Nov 5th, 2009
Written by : Maggy Allard

Forget to share some news! | Photographe Vendée

2009-11-03T02:54:00.002-06:00

I'm going to be an auntie this spring!!! . . . Actually an auntie X 2, since hubby's brother and his girlfriend are expecting twins for April 2010! I can't wait, and since they live less than a mile away we will be able to see them often -- think of all the precious newborn pictures . . *sigh*

My Sami Sue | Photographe Vendée

2009-11-01T11:04:00.014-06:00

I have been very very busy for the last month and I haven't updated my blog because I wanted to do a special blog entry for my Sami Sue who turned 6 on Oct. 5th. I am late but I wanted to do it right. Sami is such a special person, she is spunky and 100% "what you see is what you get". She has a magnetic energy about her. People are often drawn to her and she doesn't even realize it. She can make a friend in seconds and has her heart on her sleeve. She would give to other before herself. She is bright beyond her years and has some amazing logic to the way she things. She is so far from a perfect angel and that is what I love about her. She is very messy and a bit clumsy. She always complains that no one pays attention to her, but it is just she doesn't realize that she is always the center of attention. She has a gift with animals, and they feel that. She is always going up to strays, "saving" insects and such. She is a tough cookie but can't be a whiney hiney at times too. I have no doubt that she will go far in life -- it just can't be any other way with her personality and whit. I won't be surprised if she became a dr. one day...... Oh my Sami Sue, though you have the middle child syndrome, you will always be our beloved baby, you make of laugh, you make us scream, you make our lives complete. We love you baby girl. Happy belated 6th birthday!

Just for teh record, her middle name isn't Sue, it has just been her nickname for as long as I can remember :) Her is a glimps of the last 6 or so years...

So happy to see a healthy baby on the screen at 18 weeks Sami at a day oldI love this picture from her 1st b-dayAt 18 month in TX

Such a Sami pose1st day of preschool (2 years old)Jan 2006 -- I used this picture to announce that Sami was going to be a big sisterIn Carcasson Aug 2006The day after Leïla was born -- another Sami poseHer 3 b-day, we asked for a Sami faceWhen she was 4.5 -- so photogenic but will only give me 30 secs to shootThis is so Sami -- with Libby in Tx 2008Sami 5 year old portraitRight before her operation in June 2009Happy b-day Sami!!! Age 6!

Some trip pictures | Photographe Vendée

2009-10-05T09:20:00.003-05:00

This is just a quick selection of pictures from our trip -- I did some mini films so I will be sharing those soon too. It was an amazing trip -- it was great to just get away from our busy lives -- seemed like time just stood still. We visited Italy, Greece, Turkey and Croatia -- each country had their own special feeling to it. We sailed out of Venice but didn't get to visit it -- that will have to be another trip since it looked so beautiful. The ship sailed from Venice to Bari on the east coast of Italy where we wondered through the small ston streets. We visited a beautiful cathedrale -- but there was a huge catholic wedding taking place -- must be wierd to have tons of tourists wandering around while you getting married. That afternoon we sailed to Greece where we visited the historical site of Olympie -- so amazing that things from 600 or 700 B.C. were still standing. We learnt about the history of the olympic games and such -- really interesting. Then we had some shopping time in a little port town and we went to a small Greek café to try some local Greek refreshments. The boat then sailed off to Ismiz in Turkey. We went to see the Epheses, a very well known historical site (though I had never heard of it before going). Basically it was a city from 300 A.D. or so that as been discovered and restored -- it was buried under a mudslide and so it was very we conserved. This picture is of the city's library that was restored 10 or 15 years ago. It was huge and just amazing to see how much survived. This was Teddy's favorited visited. It was my second.

My favorite was the next day when we arrived in Istambul. My cousin told me what we should see and how to get around the city so we did it on our own. We went to the Blue Mosque first -- though it is odd to see everyone barefoot inside, it is just one of the most awsome places inside and out. The pictures I took of the inside don't do it justice -- I filmed the inside just to show the grander of it. We then went to The Saint Sophia (sorry it these are the exact terms -- I am going from French to English). It was/is a Christian church/catherdrale and has been changed into a mosque, but the Christian part was not distroyed. It was enlighting to see the two religions side by side like that. We then went to visit the Sunken Cistern, which is a 6th century acquaduct remnant. I am still amzed how a lot of thing withstand the time and development of such a huge city. We then walked over to the spice marlet -- I really like that place, though there were a ton of people. I tried to take some pictures but the salesman didn't want me to so I have just one quick fuzzy shot :(We sat outside on a bench and did some people watching -- there was this Turkish couple that were feeding the city cats -- I put my camera on my knee and discretly took some pictures of them. We did some more shopping and walking and slowly worked our way back to the ship. The next day was spent totally at sea, so just lounging around and sipping cocktails. A little hot tubbing and some swimming -- such a hard life huh? That evening the water was a little rough and it rained a little that evening, but the rest of the time we had perfect weather -- 75°F and sunny The next morning we arrived on the Croatian coast near the city of Dubrovnik. To go ashore we have to take a little boat, which was quiet a process since there were 4000 people wanting to get off. It is cute little town, though it has become very touristy. We went to the little local market and walked through the city and by the walls and climbed a lot of stairs. The water was such a deep blue. We went to a little café that was perched on cliff. So relaxing. I took a picture of our ship from the café. Once aboad we sailed back to Venice and hence the end of our cruise. Sunday was a long day of flights and waiting. We got home around 10:30pm where our girls were waiting from us! A cruise is great but being home with the girls is even better (though a bit noisier and busier)!

Whoa!! Almost a month has gone by! | Photographe Vendée

2009-09-23T01:42:00.003-05:00

I guess that is what happens when you go back to work! I know I must sound like a broken record, but it is true -- I am so busy. The girls started back to school on the thrid, my mom was in town for ten days, and I offically started my business on Sept 1st. I have done two wedding and a baptism, a couple photo sessions and this week I am doing school portraits and class pictures. I have been spending so much time on my compture editting that I don't spend much time doing much else on the computer (besides my facebook adiction). And it is finally offical -- I will be opening my own studio in town on Jan 1st, 2010. So I will have a lot of work to do to get everything set up, but I am ready to take on this challenge! It is scary and exciting all at the same time.

Quick update on the girls -- Alison and Sami have started gymnastics again -- they each go twice a week, Alison has 2 hour training sessions, and Sami has 1.5 hour training sessions. Leïla is now going to school morning and afternoon. It took her awhile to get used to naptime at school but things are going better know. Yesterday Sami and Leïla went to daycare for the first time and they both really liked it and didn't want to come home when I picked them up. Samantha lost yet another tooth. All three of them have gotten into the swing of school. On Sunday the three of them will be spend a week at my inlaws, which will be a first! Usually they go for a day or two, but this will be the first time that we will be gone for so long. We will leave on Sunday for our 10 year anniversary present to ourselves -- a cruise in the mediteerean. We will go to Italy, Greece, Turkey and Croatia. It will be a much needed break from everything. Sipping cocktails while looking over the sea sounds so nice right now. So if I don't get back on before we leave, be sure to check back when we get back since I will be sure to post some pictures! I'm sorry this update is so short and outdated -- I added a couple pictures of the girls that I took at the end of Aug and that I finally go around to doing a quick edit on this morning *blush*

My poor neglected child | Photographe Vendée

2009-08-28T03:39:00.001-05:00

(pictures of Leïla opening presents from our online friends Carolyn and Matthew -- thanks for thinking of my girl!!)

I am dedicating this post to my neglected child Leïla -- I don't know if it is because she is a third child, or because he b-day is in the middle of summer (and French people are often on vacation in Aug) but I totally feel like she has gotten the short end of the stick. The only thing that makes me feel better is that she probably won't remeber, but I beetr get my act together because next year she probably will remeber! I feel like her b-day got skipped over. She was in the hospital on her b-day, we did celebrate a little bit the next day, though I totally forgot to pick up some ballons and candy to celebrate with (though I remebered to pack a candle) We gave her a small gift since we were on vacation in Spain on her birthday. When we got home we had family party but it was for Leïla and Alison and it was on Alison's b-day, so it wasn't really her day, kwim? So I am making a promise to my baby girl, who I love so much even when she drives me nuts!, that she will get a Big B-day Bash next year and it will just be for her and to celebrate the happy, fun and very determined girl she has because. We love you Miss Leïla Lou

When I see this picture of her with her Rice Krispies Treat b-day cake, I can tell she doesn't hold it against me ;)

9 years ago .... | Photographe Vendée

2009-08-28T02:12:00.009-05:00

After almost a 9 month wait -- and over 12 hours of labor in the hospital -- Alison Sarah Brochard arrived at 18:19 (6:19pm)She changed our lives in so many waysAnd with each day that goes by ...we are proud of the person she is becoming....caring, generous, intellegent and rather emotional...we love every thing about you thoughwith each year we see you are growing up too fast... but you will always be our little baby girl and we love you more than you can even start to imagine, you have changed our lives and for that I am forever grateful!

Scared, extied, scared, excited .... | Photographe Vendée

2009-08-26T10:20:00.002-05:00

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.

This is what I keep on saying over and over in my head, though my fear of failure is HUGE -- so you can only imagine how big my desire for success is! Last night we got a call from the owner of a little shop in our town. We went to visit it a couple weeks ago since it is now vacant and I thought it might be the perfect place for a studio. It is getting harder and harder to work from home, but I don't want to be far. Anyways, the owner wasn't sure if they would be renting it out or not and said he would let us know by the end of the month.... and the answer is ...... YES!! It needs a lot of work on it so I won't be renting it until Jan 1st 2010, but that seems just right for me. Now I just need to work more on my marketing since I will have a rent to pay, so I will definately need work. So life will be very very very very busy in the upcoming months. I have 2 weddings and a baptism in Sept along with 2 other contracts. So wish me luck on this new adventure!

Hola amigos! | Photographe Vendée

2009-08-23T11:44:00.005-05:00

We got back from Spain late last night -- major traffic jam getting out of Spain, but all in all not a bad run. I just have to say I LOVE Spain, I could soooooo live there. The sun, the heat, the beaches..... Plus they are much more Americanized than the French. I could find so much American stuff in the grocery stores there (oscar myer weiners, French's mustard, Philadelphie Cream cheese....). Wish I had more time just to look around. Anyways we got there last Sat -- there girls were perfect angels in the car -- I love the dude that invented portable DVD players! We drove south with the 6 other people we were spending the vacation with -- they were in 2 other cars. When we arrived we were surprised to see how BIG the place was! I mean huge -- 5 very big bedrooms, 5 showers, 1 bath tub, 6 w/c's a huge kitchen and more square footage of patio than we havein our whole house. The back patio looked out on the mountains and in the morning I would workout there while the sun was rising! Just an amazing view! There was also an above ground pool that we didn't know about until we go there, so that was a nice surprise!

The weather was awsome -- it was 25°C (77°F) when I would wake up in the morning at noon it would be about 30°C (86°F) in the shade and it got up to 60°C (140°F) in the sun (I laid out holding a thermometer to find out) -- it was dry heat some it was really nice! We went to Barcelona on Tuesday and Thursday. We walked through the big market that in on La Rambla (the main street there)Along La Rambla there are lots of street shows and "automates" (don't know if that is what they are called in English) Alison and Sami loved droppiung change in their buckets and getting their pictures taken. Leïla wanted nothing to do with them. Not too suprising since she is a really scaredy cat! Hubby with his 3 college buddiesOn Thursday the guys visited the soccer stadium in Barcelona and then we went to visit the Park Guëll -- I love that park, so many colors, funky arches and an amazing view of all of Barcelona all the way to the sea. Hubby and I have a picture of the 2 ouf us at the same spot 10 years ago when we were on our honeymoon4 of the 5 girls -- Leïla was relaxing in her stroller We also spent a couple afternoon on the beach and I am happy to say I finally got to swim in the Mediterrean sea!! (other times I was at the Mediterrean sea there were tons of jellyfish and a huge sand storm --) The water was crystal clear and you could see the bottom. Alison loved swimming with the waves. Sami would swim some then play in the sand and then swim some more. Leïla stayed on the beach since she is scared of the waves but was very content building sand castels. I put on my mask and tuba and swam far out. I enjoyed swimming under the waves and the water was so much warmer than the Atlantic coast. I haven't doadloaded the pictures from the beach yet.

We had a lot of fun, but we did have a couple 'bumps' in the road -- which allowed us to see what Spainish hospitals are like. Leïla's 3rd b-day was on Sun and she got to spend it in the hospital. She had a rash on her arm, back and chest. We went to a pharmacy to get some medicine but got quickly sent to the hospital because they thought it was herpes. So off to the hospital we went, and we sat in the ER for 2 hours and found out that the pharmacy was right -- Leïla had/has herpes. I will know more tomorrow when I go to my French dr for a check up, but from I understood from the Spanish Dr who spoke " a little" English -- it wasn't serious, won't scar, but is painful and needs to stay out of the sun. She wasn't allowed to go in the pool or to be in the sun which was hard considering the situation but we worked with it. Her rash is much better now so I am not really worried about her appointment tomorrow. A couple days later we headed back to the hopital because one of our friends got stung by a wasp and had an allergic reation....... Streak of bad luck. Friday, hubby and I got struck with a stomach bug which wasn't much fun either. Luckily it was a 24 hour bug and we are feeling fine now. I will have more pictures later on, but I am ready to go to bed and get a good night's sleep.... I hope everyone is enjoying there last days of summer!

Trip updates | Photographe Vendée

2009-08-08T09:41:00.007-05:00

We got back from Paris on Wed evening, but unfortuately we have been without internet since we got back. It finally came back at noon today. We left for Paris on Monday morning around 8:30am and it was a pretty straight drive up to Paris. We got there around 1pm -- autoroute 90% of the way. My dad and stepmom arrived just shortly afterwards. We had a quick picnic lunch in a park next to the hotel before we headed out to Monmatre and Sacre Coeur. Leïla enjoyed the walk in her stroller and Alison and Sami did pretty well walking. Sacre Coeur is up on a hill, so it was all uphill. My stepbrother and his fiancé arrived that evening and we all had dinner together. The next morning we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe -- we climb all 284 steps on the windy straircase to get to the top. I was carrying Leïla up the stairs -- we were almost at the top when she dropped her paci ALL THE WAY DOWN THE STAIRS!!! She was sooo upset, but I could go all the way back down to get it since it was a "one way" staircase. So I found a security guy at the top and he radioed to the guy at the bottom and 5 minutes later the ever beloved paci was back. You would of thought she would now be careful with it, right?? While we were on the roof of the Arc de Triomphe her paci fell out of her mouth and bounced on the edge and fell back towards us -- but it was very close to falling down on the busiest round about in Paris a couple hundred feet below. What a little stinker! When we left the Arc de Triomphe, we strolled down the whole Champs d'Elysée -- the buildings are amazing and there are some very famous store and cabarets there. We grabbed a quick lunch and the headed to the Jardins des Tulleries -- which is just an amazing park. We took Alison and Sami on the big Ferris wheel which was a lot of fun. You could see the Eiffle tour, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Mussé D'Orsay and so much more. The girls loved it! When we got down we continued our way to the Louvre. We only did the outside, but just the same it is so awsome. I did a quick engagement photo session for my step brother and his fiancé while we were there which was just perfect since he is an artist himself. The girls went and got ice cream and we slowly made our way back to our hotel -- it was a long day for the girls and they were wiped. We went out and had Chinese food that evening and Sami discovered chopsticks for the first time -- which totally awed her until she fell asleep in grandma's arms. Wed. morning we decided to go to Les Invalids, L'école Militaire and then to the Eiffle Tower. I just love the area around Les Invalids -- I could so see myself living there for a couple months (not that that would ever happen). Then we worked our way over to the Eiffle tower. Unforunately Alison was worn out by then. He little legs just wouldn't move anymore -- so we gave her piggyback rides to help her along (we found out later that she had an ear ache and low grade fever). When we got to the Eiffle tower the lines were ridiculously long -- like a 3 hour wait. So we just walked around, we will be able to go back another time. We then walked to the closest metro station and went to Notre Dame. There was a line there too (I have never seem a line there before) and the kids were tired so we went and walked along the sides street and had lunch in a little greek restaurant. Our trip was coming to an end and we had to head back to the hotel since we had a 4 hour drive to get home. It is always hard to say goodbye to my family, but I am so glad we were able to meet up in Paris. Now for some pictures....

Playing on a playground same

At the beach last week

Leïla running around on the beach

The first day -- the beach was packed (and check out all the speedos -- yuck!)

Eiffle Tower
on the Ferris wheel looking over the Louvre and Notre Dame is in the background

On the roof of the Arc de Triomphe

Montmatre
Under the Arcs at the Louvre
Same

Along the banks of the Seine

Back, then gone again, and back again and off again | Photographe Vendée

2009-08-02T23:55:00.002-05:00

We had a great time at the beach -- we got back Thursday afternoon. We had sun and the girls were able to play in the waves (except for Leïla who is terrified by waves) and in the sand. We went out for ice cream in the evenings and just had fun relaxing. Friday I had another newborn session and Sat was a very busy day since I had a lot of work and then we had a close friends b-day party which was a 2-day affair. So we packed our bags again and headed out Sat afternoon. We got back yesterday evening and we had tons to stuff to do since we are leaving for Paris this morning. We have basically be living out of suitcases for the lasy week or so. We will be coming back on Wed evening. Then we will be at home until the 15th, when we will be heading off to Barcelona for a week. Before leaving I am doing a stand at our town summer market to showcase my work and answer questions, etc. I have barely even started to think about the whole thing --- can you see I am running behind on everything??!! So we leave in a little over an hour so I better jump in the shower and get dressed or my on-time hubby will be tapping his foot ;) I promise I'll have more pictures when I get back from Paris!

A couple days of vacation | Photographe Vendée

2009-07-28T02:07:00.003-05:00

I have been working hard to get all my photo sessions and editing done before we head to the beach for 3 days. Not long, but just long enough to have a break. The girls can't wait -- Leïla has become obsessed with the beach lately. Alison and Sami are ready to try out their new body boards and I am loading up books and magazines to read on the beach. The weather is suppose to be nice the whole time (which would almost be a record here -- 3 days straight of nice weather). So I am busy cooking and preparing our meals for our trip (I don't want to cook while I am there), we are going to stop and picnic with hubby at noon and then we will go to my inlaws little appartment on the coast. The is a pool at the appartment complex too, so Sami will be able to show off her new swimming skills. I better go and finish the cooking and the packing. If you want to see the sneak peaks of my latest photo sessions, they are on my business blog. I have 2 more sessions this weekend, so I will be busy as soon as we come back. So I will be e-mail-less for the next couple days, but I will check in as soon as we get back! Bye!!

Just a picture of THE MONSTER | Photographe Vendée

2009-07-24T01:34:00.002-05:00

She isn't that bad, just has tons of energy. I wanted to get a picure of her after her nap and this is all I got -- but still cute in a "no I don't want to" 3 year old kind of way!

Where did July go??? | Photographe Vendée

2009-07-22T10:00:00.003-05:00

There is only a little over a week left in July??? How did that happen?
For the last 2 weeks Sami has been taking swimming lessons and I can proudly say she can swim!! Yeah!! Now if only the weather would be nice enough for her to show us her new skills! Friday we are heading to the beach with some friends, so she might be able to show off a little. Alison has totally turned into a pre-teen this summer -- she just does her own thing and tends to have mood swings once in awhile -- I think this is just the beginning of "fun" years to come. Leïla runs around like she is on a sugar high 24/7 -- she is talking a lot more now and non-stop. Her favorite saying right now is "OK" every sentence ends with "OK", cute, but can get annoying very quickly! Oh and she has found a newfound love for Dora. Sami stopped watching Dora about a year ago and now it is Leïla's turn. At least when she watches Dora, she is a bit calmer.
Teddy is as busy as ever -- he has a lot meetings concerning becoming an associate and has to figure out all the stuff with the bank. His firm has also moved which has been an adventure in itself. They are still working on the outside of the building but everything is moved in now. It is a little bit closer to home (about 10 minutes) which is nice. My photography has been keeping me busy and up late since the sunset isn't until around 9:30pm and that is the best time for pictures. The weather hasn't been that nice so I have been having to push back appointments often. I had 3 sessions last week and three more this coming week. I have booking for Aug and some in Sept so that is good. I am also working on all the paperwork that is involved in setting up my own business. I have been trying to keep my business blog going so people can see my work. My desk is covered in post it notes and my never to do list is growing day by day. The stress level is pretty high but it is all so exciting. Oh, one more new thing -- check out the new hair color. After 12 years of blond I went darker ------ VERDICT???? Better run, so much to get done whil Alison and Sami are at the library and Leïla is napping.........

Just a little slideshow I made for our party.... | Photographe Vendée

2009-07-14T03:32:00.003-05:00

Sit back, grab a drink -- a bit long. Enjoy!!

Just a quick picture from yesterday | Photograhe vendée

2009-07-12T12:27:00.001-05:00

Party Party Party! | Photographe Vendée

2009-07-10T12:18:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow we are going to be celebrating our 10 year anniversary (it was 2 weeks ago) We invited our close friends and our family -- we will be around 75 people, I think. Our theme is the "Love Boat" since we went on our cruise for our honeymoon and we will be going on another to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. Everyone has to wear "Cruise Attire" -- I can't tell you what we are wearing since it is a surprise, but I'm sure I'll have some fun pictures to share in a couple days. I better get back to getting things ready.... Have a great weekend -- I know we will!

Cha- ching!!! | Photographe Vendée

2009-07-09T08:53:00.003-05:00

That is what I heard in my head when I walked past the diaper aisle in the grocery store. We are FINALLY a diaper-free houshold!! Leïla has been potty-trained during the day for just over a year now, but she didn't want to give up her naptime and bedtime diaper. So she is still being true to her nickname that I gave here when she was learning to walk -- "Little Miss Lazy Butt" -- and needed a little shove to go in the right direction. So last week I decided I wasn't going to buy anymore diapers. I told Leïla this, and we counted how many diapers were left. The last diaper was Sat night. Which was a pretty good thing since stores are closed here on Sunday and I couldn't buy anymore dipaers even if I wanted to. Naptime went off pretty well and she didn't have an accident. Monday morning she woke up around 10:30am and had an accident (I think that is what woke her up) and since then no more accidents! We have had a couple short diaper breaks over the last nine years, but is nice to know I don't need to spend anymore money on diapers!! Yeah Leïla!!!

Happy fourth of July! | Photographe Vendée

2009-07-06T09:45:00.003-05:00

I feel so bad about not updating my blog lately -- seems like I am getting nothing done lately. Well, I can't say that is totally true -- I did finish my friends' wedding album, I have had a couple photo shoots (you can see some on my biz blog), and the girls wrapped up their school year and had the end of the year show. Hubby and I also celebrated our 10 year anniversary. We had friends and family stop over but we will be having the real fiesta soon, but that will be in another post.

Of coarse we didn't really get to celebrate the 4th of July, but the girls received cute 4th of July shirts and flags, so we did get into the spirit a little bit. I ttok them out this morning for some quick pictures -- the weather was windy which cause some technical difficulties! I also noticed that my kids don't know how to wave a flag -- you would never see people waving little French flags. We will be celebrating the 4th on the 18th with my American friends -- they even do a baseball game which should be pretty humorous since I don't think I have played since I was in junior high and Teddy has never tried before.

I better get moving and do some more cleaning, busy life = dirty house and I can't stand it anymore so I am off to spring clean (see how behind with things I am!!!)

Another day at the beach.... | Photographe mariage Vendée

2009-06-24T04:20:00.002-05:00

But this time it was work related and without the kids! The bride and groom for June 6th wanted me to do their formal portraits and in a way "a trash the dress" on Monday. Perfect weather and we did a lot of fun poses and locations. I will be adding more to my biz blog over the next week or so -- so if you want to see some of my work you can check it out there http://jillbrochardphoto.blogspot.com/

Hit the Beach! | Photographe Vendée

2009-06-18T07:41:00.003-05:00

We are so enjoying the nice weather this week. Another one of my cousins is here and I am just happy that the weather is playing along. So yesterday we headed to the Vendeen coast and had a day at the beach. It was probably the best beach weather I have seen in a long time -- not a cloud in the sky, rather warm but not buring hot, and not too much wind. Alison was in the water in no time and though it wasn't warm enough for me, it was warmer that a couple weeks ago. Sami had fun playing on the beach and made instant friends. They were fishing jellyfish (ewwww!) and putting them in their pails. At one point Sami had about ten in hers. I thought they looked pretty funky, some were a dark brown color. I had never seen so many on the coast line here, but that didn't keep people out of the water. I brought my little video camera in a zip lock bag so I could snap a couple pictures.

Bathing beauty (though she won't even get close to the water)

Sami having fun "fishing"

Alison and Sami making a big sand castle

A little flashback..... | Photographe Vendée

2009-06-17T01:31:00.003-05:00

So now that we are back to kind of normal living after our two weeks of medical stuff I fifgure I will blog about last week and what happend before the horrible toe incident. My cousin and her family came for a quick visit while travelling in Europe. Their son is just a year older than Leïla and she loved having someone to play with. Though she could say his name correctly -- instead of say Max, she would say Mask. Max speak English but naturaly goes into German. So with Leïla who understands some English but naturally goes into French, it made for some interesting kid conversation. I tried to film them but they wouldn't really let me. It is really a shame that the three days they were here we had AWFUL weather -- wind and rain! They left for Paris on Thursday and Leïla asked for 2 days straight "where's Mask" and wasn't happy hearing that he was gone. :(

The 4 kids making yummy homemade pizza Mask -- I mean Max ;)
This week my other cousin has come to see us and it looks like we are going to have much nicer weather. Today is just beautiful so we are going to head to the beach, though it was be hard to keep Sami out of the water. Alison's stiches are out so she can go in the water but Sami's toes still bleeds some (especially after Leïla stepped on it). But in general Sami is doing pretty well and you can't tell she was in the hospital only 5 days ago.

ER trip and operation | Photographe Vendée

2009-06-13T05:39:00.002-05:00

(just before her operation) I was planning on blogging about the nice visit I had with my cousin and family, but that will have to come later. Thursday I got a call from the girls' school. Sami injured her toe nail during recess. Her teacher asked me if I could pick her up and bring her home. So since it didn't seem too serious I took my time and got there about 10 minutes after the call. All the kids were still in the school yard (strange) and 3 teachers were taking care of Sami and cleaning up the blood on the floor. There were a couple of kids that lifted a grid and one dropped it on Sami's toe. The nail was smashed and it was bloody -- one of the teachers told me to make an appointment with my dr. I could get an appointment until 8:15pm so I took Sami home and she blacked out from the pain and then come around and slept for 2 and a half hours. She was still in a lot of pain so around 6pm I took her straight to the dr's and sat in the waiting room and he took us. He looked at it for a minute or two and set up to the emrgency room. So ran home, got Alison and Leïla's stuff together and dropped them off at my in-laws. We got to the ER around 7:30pm. I had to carry her since she couldn't walk. We didn't have to wait that long and Sami was very calm about the whole thing. She got an x-ray done to make sure her toe wasn't broken, and we saw a surgen. He said he could help relieve her pain for the night but we would have to come back the next morning for an operation on the nail bedding. So they drilled two holes in her nail to get the underlaying blood out. She felt much better after that. We got home around midnight. The next morning we left at 7:30am. We got the paperwork done and went up the the Pedeatric floor. They were amazing. We had to wait until around 9:30 before they took us down to the OR. It was hard to let her go on her own but she seemed ok with it. The waiting was hard -- it was an hour long operation but she didn't get back to her room until noon. She was thirsty and hungry but she wasn't allowed to eat or drink yet. She wasn't in any pain which was good. We had to stay at the hospital until 5:30pm when she got a clean bill of health. We have to go back in 10 days and every 2-3 days a nurse will come to the house to change her bandages. This morning she couldn't walk and now is able to get around. She just has to be very careful not to bump her toe. So that was our excitement from the last 2 days.

(being silly -- she didn't seem scared, the only time she cried was when she had to get undressed, she didn't want to wear the hospital gown)

Playing in the hospital play room after her operation)

Behind again! | Photographe Vendée

2009-06-11T04:43:00.005-05:00

Last weekend was a very very busy weekend since we had our close friends' wedding. Teddy was cordinating and I was shooting the wedding. So here a just a couple of picture of us from Sat. I am still working my way through the hundreds of pictures I took. I'm trying to narrow it down to 150 and then edit them. I have a lot of work a head of me!

Because I said I would | Photographe Vendée

2009-06-05T10:38:00.005-05:00

The new do -- we cut off over 6 inches of hair. I love it and so does Alison. This is just a quick snap taken after school. She just shakes her head and her hair falls into place.

Update : about 5 mins after posting this Alison came in crying -- she ripped her white pants and was so upset. When she took them off we saw that she also "ripped" her inner tigh. After calling my neighbors over to get their opinion, I decided to take her to the pharmacy for butterfly strips. When we got there they said it would need more than that..... off to the dr's. After scare induced shakes and lots of tears, Alison walked out with 7 stiches. We have to go back in 10 days to get them taken out. Such fun!

Short and Sweet | Photographe Vendée

2009-06-04T08:07:00.005-05:00

Last crazy week -- I hope! Monday was another national holiday, so we took the girls to the beach since the weather was nice. Going to the beach is actually starting to be a relaxing experience since the girls are growing up. Leïla can got without a nap pretty well, all three of them played on the beach and Alison and Sami actually went in the water (waaaaaay too cold for my Texas blood!) No pictures since I didn't want to bother lugging the camera with me and I didn't want to damage it the week before the wedding I am shooting. Tuesday was Leïla's class's end of the year outing. They went to a working farm -- they showed the kids how they milked the cows, the kids helped make cheese and fed chickens, geese, turkeys and other feathered friends. We had a nice picnic outside and once again the weather was perfect and it got hot in the afternoon!
A week old calf

Leïla and her friend (I hope they stay friends -- this little girl is so sweet -- especially since I saw some real monsters in her class! )

Leïla vs the rooster (she was shaking in her sneakers)

Wed was the first day that my pictures are up in the library, I stopped in quickly but didn't bring my camera to snap a picture -- maybe next week.

Today was the last day of swim lessons at school. Samantha's class had 12 lessons and Alison's class had 10. I go with them when the teachers need extra parents to help out. So it is now over for the year and it will be nice to have a little break. This afternoon Alison is getting her hair cut -- really needs it, but she so wants it very very long but she just doesn't have the hair for it. So my hairdresser frined is coming over and has convinced Alison to get a styling cut -- pictures to come, for sure.

Just a photography side note -- a couple from a session I did a couple weeks ago -- it was a surprise for their parents, so I wasn't allowed to show them until now. There are others, including a fun session I did for my friend's aunt on my business blog -- http://jillbrochardphoto.blogspot.com/ You can leave comments over there too even if it is in English ;)

Must go since I realized that I signed up for Samantha's class's field trip but I totally forgot that Leïla doesn't have school in the afternoon and I won't be here to pick her up -- any babysitters free for tomorrow???????

She's my champion! | Photographe Vendée

2009-05-31T05:11:00.004-05:00

Alison did really well during her gymnastics competition. She didn't make the podium, but did did very well on a personal level. Also this week she has learnt how to do a backbend/backflip. She is still a little scared but it is coming a long. I juged all day yesterday, so it was quiet long for both of us. Luckily it is yet another long weekend since Monday is another national holiday. We are going to try to go to the beach tomorrow so the girls can play in the sand and maybe even get in the water some. We will see!

Big Stuff | Photographe Vendée

2009-05-26T08:45:00.003-05:00

Real big stuff -- like the kind of stuff that makes you loose sleep at night, the kind that make you feel like you just jumped off a cliff and there is no turning back, the stuff that makes you feel like you swallowed a load of stones..... Or maybe it isn't that big, I just tend to be a worry wart and a tad mellow dramatic. Anyways, here is what is going on. First of all received my business cards!! I love them, they each have one of my pictures on them, there are 24 different ones. I can't wait to start handing them out, that also makes me nervous.... Silly, I know!Next big thing is for the month of June -- which is next week!! At our local library, each month has a theme, and for the month of June it is "photography". So I have been asked to display some of my work for the whole month of June. They will also run an article in the newspaper which will give me free advertising! So I have been working hard trying to choose 25 pictures to use (I ended up picking 27), ordering them and mounting them. So as soon as I finish this up I will be dropping them off at the library. Again -- for me this is VERY nerve racking.... the stones in my stomach are starting to feel heavier and heavier....

And to get the stress level up a notch -- I am shooting a close friend's wedding in lass than 2 weeks....... Welcome to the world of stress induced insomnia!!

Tidbits | Photographe Vendée

2009-05-21T08:50:00.002-05:00

Just a little post of tidbits -- I think my brain has been overloaded and I can't think straight so nothing too deep. So see this box of cookies -- not exciting huh?? UNLESS -- you live in boonie France and have never seen Oreos in the grocery stores! I was surprised to see them in the regular cookie aisle, so I had to buy a box (it won't be a weekely think because that wouldn't be good for my waistline or my wallet!) I still haven't opened them -- saving for that special moment :) Just wanted to share my happy moment of the week ;) Yesterday was a national holiday so the girls didn't have school. And the weather finally got a little warmer so Alison went through some of her summer clothes from last summer. That is when she found this little cheerleader outfit. Last year she really didn't know what a cheerleader was but now she has one year of Hannah Montana education under her belt she now understands the idea of it. So we watched soon cheerleading videos on you tube and she started to practice - hahaha! So here is a short video

Some of you asked me why the girls don't have school on Wed. Well..... just because :) The girls have alwasy had a 4-day scool week, but that was only in our region, others had 4.5 and 5 day school weeks (and more school vacation). But a year ago it became a national thing. Since I am at home it is nice for the girls, they sleep a little longer, and do things on Weds. When Alison goes to junior high in a year, she won't have school on Weds in 6th and 7th grade and then 8th grade on up most schools only have class on Wed mornings. I don't even think about it anymore. Just how things work here ! :)

Come on life --- slow down! | Photographe Vendée

2009-05-18T11:36:00.010-05:00

I'm sure it would seem like life is so hectic if I planned things better and learnt to say no sometimes. But we never want to miss out on something so we are always on the go!

Anyways, yet again a busy but fun weekend. Friday was our ABC meeting -- American Book Club -- mexican dinner with REAL margaritas! I say really since one of the gals brought margarita mix back in her suitcase. We also had "smuggled" in refried beans, and amazing homemade burrittos! Yummy!! We read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by the same author as "The Kite Runner" personally I liked the Kite Runner much more, but it is still worth the read. I didn't get home until 1am and I think we probably could have talked the night away. Our next meeting with be a family BBQ for the 4th of July -- can't wait!

Sat. hubby was playing in a doubles tennis tournement so the girls and I did some running around that morning and we stopped to see how they were getting along. At noon they weren't that happy with their game. (but they ended up 3rd, which isn't too shabby!) We dashed home for a quick lunch then Sami and Leïla went to Mamie's for the afternoon since Alison had a gymnastics competition. I was also judging for the first time. When we got their I felt there was something that wasn't just right. I didn't see any of the people I trained with to be judge. The girls went to change and when I finally found the people who runs the whole judge thing, he told me they were expecting me at 1pm and by then it was 3:15pm. I never got the judge papers and they time I received was for the gymnists :( I was so dissappointed -- at least they let me practice judge for the rest of the afternoon. The thing that I don't like about judging is that I don't get to watch Alison, though I did see her take a fall from the balance beam. We stayed until the very end to get the team results -- Alison's team is 3rd in Vendée and won 1st place in the category! Way to go girls!!!! We got home around 9:30pm -- and long day and the next day wasn't going to be any easier.

So Sunday morning I got up pretty early since it was Alison's communion and we all had to be out of the house by 10:40am. I still had a lot of cleaning to do, and luckily we had the lunch catered by a friend who specializes in intenational cooking. Alison and Sami didn't get up until around 9:30 and got ready. My firned came at 10am to do Alison's hair. It was a mad rush but we got out the door on time. The communion went well -- Alison read some script and she took her first communion. Unfortunately we didn't see much since there were some many people in the church -- there were 17 kids and then all their families!! It was packed and on top of it Leïla was being restless. Oh and to add to it all it was POURING rain!! We weren't allowed to take any pictures during the service so I don't have much to show -- I did take a couple but there were so many people that I gave up after awhile. We got back home a relaxed with a nice Mojito! and then enjoyed our yummy meal. Since the weather cleared up we all had a go on the trampoline -- check out the grandparents -- hahaha!! Since we didn't have enough going on this weekend we also had Leïla's class mascot "Cesar the duck" to look after. Leïla hates the thing and wouldn't let it near her bed and kept on throwing it. I had to get some pictures of the duck to glue in the duck's notebook and explain what he did over the weekend -- didn't want to write that he was bruised and abused!!

So I was halfway asleep at 10:30pm when we heard someone coming downstairs -- Samantha. "I lost a tooth!!" Yeah, put it under your pillow and go back to bed....... 10:45pm someone coming downstairs -- Alison "I lost a tooth!!" Yeah, put it under your pillow and go back to bed. Don't know what was in the are and at that point, too exhausted to care ;)

Opposites attract! | Photographe Vendée

2009-05-14T12:01:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the girls didn't have school since it was Wed (no school on Weds here). So like many Weds the house was rooming with kids. Luckily the rain held off and they were able to play outside. Earlier that morning Alison talked about her friends and all the girl "stuff" (or crap -- but since she is little I will say stuff). I'm friends with so & so and not with so & so. And So & so hurt my feelings.... blah blah blah. Alison is a talker, she has to talk about her feelings and I know a lot about what goes on in school and with her group of friends. I always listen because I so want her to keep talking to me in a couple years from now (junior high is only a year away!!) Sami on the hand, is much more secrective. Likes to hide things (mostly because she knows she is getting herself into trouble) and tries to solve things on her own. She has tons of friends and is often the center of attention without even trying. She is 100% "what you see is what you get"! So yesterday when all the kids were playing over here (I think I counted 12 at one point) I listened to the girls talking to their friends. Alison's conversations where more on the line of "what would you like to do, whatever you want will be fine, and a lot of chitchat" Sami on the other hand was more like "This is what we are going to do, if your not happy you don't have to play with me, and almost down right bossy!" I wonder how they can be sisters and have similar upbrings but are so totally different. But what is wonderful with their differences is they get a long so well -- I know that might not last, but so far, so good!

Busy weekend -- but fun too!

2009-05-12T08:25:00.004-05:00

Friday May 8th was another national holiday so we planned to take the girls to the Puy de Fou, which is a big tourist attraction about 20 mins from our house. We haven't been there in over 12 years! But since the girls are old enough to enjoy it we planned the outing along with some of our friends. We weren't sure if we were going to bring Leïla along since it would be a long day and no nap, but since Mamie wasn't able to babysit we decided to bring her along. And I am so glad we did because she love it all. The whole place is based on history, mostly midevil times. So we saw gladiators ( no Russell Crowe -- though one of my friend saw Jude Law at the Puy de Fou a couple years ago), Vikings, and various birds that flew over our heads. The weather was suppose to be beautiful but we ended up having a bit of drizzle in the morning and it was pretty chilly! Here are some pictures to give you an idea of the place.Then on Saturday, hubby and I headed to the coast and the girls went to spend the night at Mamie's house. My brother and sister in law met us there around 9pm (my sister in law works late on Sat's) and we all headed out for dinner. It was warmer than the day before so we strolled along the beach looking for a restaurant. Seafood it was --- yum yum yum!! I love my brother and sister in law -- they are really really really laid back people and we can always count on them, and it is really handed that they only live about a mile away from our house. Sunday Mamie and Papy were meeting us along with the girls at there beach appartment for lunch. Mother's Day is June 7th here but since we won't be able to celebrate and neither will my brother in law, we had a mother's day lunch all together. The meal didn't last too long since hubby and his brother were finally going to use their birthday presents! A JETSKI trip! My brother in law couldn't wait, but hubby wasn't so sure about the whole thing -- see, he can't really swim and is a little scared of water. But I knew he would love the experience and pushed him into it. And man did he love it!! They both had the gooffiest smiles on their face when they got in to port! He a some of the pictures I snapped as we tried to follow them along the coast (most of the time they looked like little spots in the ocean!)

Tired tired tired -- but it has paid off... | Photographe Vendée

2009-05-06T10:25:00.006-05:00

Spring is in the air and I have been busy with a lot of photo sessions. Sunday I had yearly session with the firefighters for the 2010 calander. It was a lot of fun, especially I have gotten to know aquiet a few of them over the last year. Monday morning was a super fun session -- the type I don't get to do often -- Maternity! For some odd reason people don't get maternity pictures done much around here -- even my close friend whom I offered totally free sessions turned me down. What made this session even more exciting was that it was the first time I was shooting a total total stranger -- I took pictures of one of her co-workers' newborn over a year ago and she loved them and took my name and number down and keep it. She called me back in Feb to make sure to have a spot (yeah like I was overbooked already !) So we did quiet a few outdoory shot and some studio shots. I had a lot of fun and I was pretty sure she did too! I put up a sneak peak of her session (the same pictures as the ones here). Then this afternoon I got a call for the lady -- she was almost in tears (which freaked me out -- I thought something serious happned to her or her baby). She just wanted to call to say she loved the pictures and never in a million year imagined to have such beautiful pictures of herself and her daughter! I loved getting a call like that -- especially in a time of self-doubt. I know my pictures aren't always technically perfect, but if the people I shoot are moved, that is all I am aiming for! At the end of the phone call I told her I would be dropping the CD off at her house tomorrow (I told her it would take ten days but I just could hold back on editting them) She was so excited -- can't wait to give them to her and even more anious to do their newborn session this summer! Last night I also had another session -- but it is a surprise for their parents so just in case for some odd reason their parents stumble upon my blog I will have to get it a secret. Tomorrow and have yet another session -- so the next couple of days will be full of editting -- oh and a dentist appointment to fix a cracked molar -- ouch!

May Day, May Day .... | Photographe Vendée

2009-05-02T10:31:00.005-05:00

No that isn't a cry for help! I love the month of May -- we have so many national holidays in May that there are barely any full weeks. The first holiday being May 1st, May Day and our Labor Day. And this year it is a Friday which makes for a nice long weekend. So earlier this week we told the girls we were going to have a surprise day trip. The not-knowing part drove them crazy -- especially Sami. Sami was sure the surprise was that we were going to have a picnic -- she loves picnic and since it is so easy and it makes her so happy we tend to do that a lot when the weather is nice enough. She was partially right -- we headed about an hour south and had a nice picnic lunch down by a canal -- it was so nice to be able to be outside and the girl had a blast running around -- and I had fun playing with my 135mm -- I haven't been able to use it that much since it is an outdoor lens

After we were done eating and playing we went to the "surprise". We planned on a 2 hour row boat trip along the "Venise Verte" -- the green Venise (it is a canal system then is covered in a little green moss in the spring). Unfortunately, but with hind sight, fortunately, the lady told us that the 1 hour trip would be plenty with a toddler. Out 1 hour trip ended up being 1.5 hours since we let the girls row and we took our time. I didn't get too many pictures since I stupidly left my 28mm on my 40D, so I tried to take some shots with my 50mm while in the boat but I kept on rocking the boat when I was scootingg back. Anyways, at least I have a few ...

The Abby

The hard working rower

1st and 2nd mates!

Luckily it wasn't until the end that we saw a nice little snake swimming along the side of the boat -- I didn't care that he was tiny and harmless -- snakes + me = Aaaaccckkkk!!!
Sarah -- remember going to this place 10 years ago???

First Session w/ my 40D | Photographe Vendée

2009-04-30T11:51:00.003-05:00

This little 18 month old is probably one of my favorite models -- I did her mom's maternity pictures, newborn pictures and 3 month old pictures. Her mom was Alison and Samantha's gymnastics coach a couple years ago and she is also a hairdresser. So I did her daughter's pictures and she is going to style Alison's hair for her Communion in a couple weeks!

She loved my new wooden bike prop that I picked up at a garage sale!

Week 7 -- I think ;) | Photographe vendée

2009-04-29T09:55:00.008-05:00

Last Sat the guys got a lot more work done than planned, which is really nice! They continued to lay bricks and get the walkways ready even when it started to rain a little. They passed the wires for the lighting in each flower bed and cut the base of the walkway. Then the shovelled out tons of pebbles to fill the walk way and then used some type of pounding machine the flatten it out and to get it level. By the time they finished that evening they were all wiped! But at least all the hard physical work is done. Newt step will be getting the ground ready to replant the grass and then we need to pick out what plants we will be planting.... Still a lot of choices to be made but it is starting to look more and more like a construction instead of a destruction!

Looking out the front doorLooking from the drivewayfrom the other side of the houseAnd view of the new wider walkway in front of the sliding door

Last session with my Canon Rebel...

2009-04-27T07:17:00.005-05:00

Thursday was a beautiful day and I had a session with an adorable 3 month old. Her parents are getting married in Sept and I will be shooting their wedding. So to get to know them better I offered an extra little session. We got quiet a few cute shots and my now new personal favorite picture if from this session, though I can't show it here since it is probably too "risqué" for the American public :) (nude little baby invovled) I can't wait to do their wedding -- the future bride showed me her dress and let just say "WOW!" I have never seen a dress like it in my life -- not all white or ivory, but I won't say more since the future groom doesn't know what it looks like.

When I got back from our session the delivery guy showed up at the door -- my new camera!! Woohoo! I have been saving up all my photography money to upgrade my camera before the wedding I'll be shoot in June and I finally took the plunge and ordered it -- the Canon 40D. This will be my main work camera and my Rebel will be my backup and my personal camera, though I am sure it will be hard to leave it behind when we go on outings. But since I have to get use to the new buttons and settings and all I had to take it for a little practice run with Leïla -- here are a couple of my first pictures with it!

P.S. Concerning my scenery photo question -- I think I am going am going to send 3 in and let them choose -- #1, #3 & #6 Thanks for you help!

Rowan Grace Maisey

2009-04-24T08:52:00.002-05:00

This morning I woke upt and read some very sad news

This is what was on Rowan's website http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rowangrace

When Rowan was about three years old she told us about her Angel Mother who took care of her before she came to be with us. Rowan is back with her Angel Mother now.Rowan Grace MaiseyBeautiful, courageous, and light-filled spirit. Tuesday's child is full of Grace.

I know my good friend Mel is grieving her neice, and it saddens me to imagine someone loosing their little girl. In a very selfish way, stories like this remind us how precious life is and that our world could take a totally different turn. I'm sure her family weren't imagining something like this when Rowan was a carefree 2.5 year old like Leïla, or a sassy 5 year old like Sami. And only imagining that at Alison's age she had already faught and temporary won the battle over Leukemia. Rowan's strength has deeply marked our family and our hearts ache for her grieving family.

Help me chose --- please!

2009-04-23T02:39:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago someone from the local photo club asked if I would be willing to submit 2 pictures for their upcoming photo expo. Of coarse I quickly said YES!! The only problem -- the theme -- and very vague "scenery". I love shooting people and scenery just really isn't my thing, and it is so vague that scenery can really mean anything. So I did a couple tries and I don't love any of them, but I have to choose 2. So just take a second and vote of 2 -- it would be a great help to have someone else choose!

Number 1

Number 2 Number 3 Number 4 Number 5 Number 6
Hope my family that checks in here and don't comment often will vote here --- PLEASE!!

Progress progress!

2009-04-21T11:54:00.004-05:00

Our landscaping is really starting to look like we are doing something instead of just looking like we are tearing up the front lawn. So Sat my brother in law, father in law and future son in law (Leïla has fallen for one of my brother in law's friends) along with hubby work long and hard. They started at 8am and only stopped around 6pm because they ran out of bricks. So you can start to see where the walk way will be and where the various flower beds will be. They will finish laying the bricks next Sat and then we (they) we start on the walkways. I guess one day will will have to start thinking about what we will be planting, but for the time being I am enjoying see the progress each week

(A shot from the driveway)

(looking at the walkway to the front door)

(the path to the hot tub and a small flower bed)

(the walkway to the flower bed)

(the flower bed in the cornor behind the wall)Here are just a couple radom shots from last week. these 2 pictures were taken only seconds apartand one of Miss Leïla -- look at how long her hair is when it is wet!And tonight I gave all women around the world a bad name -- the doors and windows are all open since the weather is nice, the neighbors kids were all over playing. Out of the cornor of my eye I saw the cat had something in it mouth ----- EWWWWW a dead mouse! I calmly went to a dust pan to swept it up (trying to be brave in front off all the kids) The cat flung the thing across the dining room and that sent me screaming! He kept on playing with it and tossing it around until he got to the sunroom where we tried to get him to take it out. After a bit one of the neighbors' 10 year old sons had pity on me and took the dust pan and swept him out. I'm such a wimp at time!

Spring Break is over!

2009-04-18T10:50:00.005-05:00

Even though the weather wasn't the greatest it was nice to get away. So Tuesday we closed the door and didn't look back to see all the stuff that needed doing and headed on our way. Leïla was dropped off at Mamie's house and Alison, Sami and I headed to the coast. It is a quick hour drive and with the DVD players in the car, it went by in a blink. When we got there the weather was OK so we quickly headed off to the beach -- coats and all. The girls played in the sand and slowly they went towards the water. Sami rolled up her jeans and played and played -- until she realized that her jeans were soaked! There were tons of surfers out that day and I watched them -- I swear one day I will learn to surf! After the girls were done playing we walked along the boardwalk and bought some chichis for their snack -- it is kind of like fried dough -- yumm! We headed back to the apartement and waited for hubby to arrive so we could go out to eat. We had mussels and fries at a cute restaurant along the port and we watched the boats go in and out. It was nice eating out without a toddler -- I was able to eat my whole meal without sharing, having to take someone for a potty break and didn't have to tot around a bib! What a change -- 2 kids is really a piece of cake! Though I have to admit that we did miss little Miss Leïla Lou!
Wed. -- all day long -- was non-stop rain! So we did a little shopping and after lunch we headed a bit farther north along the coast to look for some interesting locations for the bridal pictures I am doing in June -- The girls had fun along the rocks and checking out all the little caves, though I was having a hard time trying to protect my camera from the rain. That evening we met up with some friends and had some awsome fresh crab!!

We headed back to the beach on Thursday since the sun decided to come back -- though Sami stay quiet a distance from the water -- they made sandcastles and such and I quietly read on the beach. I do prefer to go to the beach when it is warmer and you don't need a coat but you take what you can get! We picked Leïla up that evening -- she had a blast and Mamie and Papy loved having her there -- I think we might need to do it again soon. So spring break is over now and the girls return to school tomorrow -- it is raining once again, but what's new! Hopefully spring will come someday soon!

We're back .... and we're off!

2009-04-14T03:16:00.005-05:00

(25 of the 26 that were there last weekend)

So our Easter weekend trip went off without a hitch (though I can't say the same for some of our friends whose car broken down on the way home) The girls did really well in the car and for the first time in a long time, we were able to take a long trip with no one being car sick -- what a change. We arrived at our friend Sat around 6pm -- a couple of our friends were already there and over the next 4 hours everyone else showed out -- Sat was all about eating drinking and being merry! Sunday I was up early and gave a hand to the Easter bells -- yup, no Easter bunny here, just the bells from the church in Rome who as they ring spread chocolate eggs all around.

(Leïla during the egg hunt)

It rained during they night but luckily Sunday looked like the weather was to be nicer. I have always been used to doing our egg hunt in the morning, but we had to wait from everyone to get ready so it did happen until around lunch time. I was really impressed that the kids were able to hold out that long, they could see the eggs outside but waited rather patiently. After the egg hunt we divided up the chocloate evenly between all the kids and got ready for a quick lunch so we would still have time to do some sightseeing. We went to see the Nomandy beaches -- I have been a couple of times but it still amazes me -- just think of the opening scences of "Saving the Soldier Ryan" and you can understand the emotions and feelings you get while visit a place like that.

(Normandy Beach)

We wanted to see the American cementery at Ohama Beach but unfortunately it was already closed when we got there. Anyways, I have a lot of pictures but I haven't had time to work through them yet. This afternoon I am going to be dropping Leïla off at my mother-in-law's house and then Alison Sami and I will be heading to the coast for 2 nights. Hubby will be staying with us in the evenings since it isn't too far from his job. Leïla will have fun with her grandparents and the girls and I will be able to do so things that are hard to do with a toddler in tow. Now if only the weather would work with us -- they are predicting drizzle for the next 3 days! :( Hope you have a nice week and we will be back on Thursday!!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-11T06:29:00.002-05:00

We are about to head out the door to go to Caen in Normandy where we will be staying for 3 days at a friend's house -- we will be 16 adults and 10 kids -- if we survive I will blog about our trip when we get back and I'm sure I'll have some pictures to share. I wish you all a fun and safe holiday week-end.
P.S. a bit of useless info -- here the nationally holiday is Monday (Easter Monday) and not the Friday beforehand....

How many princesses do you see??

2009-04-08T11:37:00.005-05:00

The girls are on Spring break for 2 weeks and of coarse it is rainging! 2 days of ok weather and now rain! Luckily Grandma sent us an activity to do to keep the girls busy -- Sami has been asking when we would be coloring eggs ever since the package got here. So today was the day! Here we don't color eggs, at least not hard boiled eggs -- once in awhile I will hear someone say they colored blown eggs with their kids but never hard boiled ones. I was a bit worried since we only have brown eggs, plus ours are fresh off of my father in law's farm with tends to make them a bit more fragile. So the girls we amazed to see the color pop out of the color tablets when they put them in the water. Then came the egg dipping -- they were both in awe! Then they hit the decoating with stickers and putting together the princesse stuff. They had a blast. Now is going to be the hard part -- getting them to eat the hard boiled eggs. Not because they don't like eggs, it's because they are real French girls at heart and have a hard time eating florescent colored foods. I remember last summer Samathat being perplexed with bright blue frosting on a cake in the grocery store, though that didn't keep her from digging in later on. So I hope it will be the same this time. And since Leïla was napping during the activity I figured I would add a picture of her from when I was doing a lighting test before a mini session

Now off to the English pub for Fish n Chips night (and English beer!)

What a strong little girl!

2009-04-06T04:50:00.002-05:00

One of my good friends', Melanie, niece is such a fighter and I wanted to share her story with you all. The best way is to read her story HERE She had a bone marrow transplantion on 3/25 and has been having complication since then. Please keep her in your thoughts. She was lucky that someone she didn't know was complatible for her transplantation -- I have been on the donor list for a year and a half and I hope one day I will be able to help a little someone, their family and friends win their battle.

Looks like she got the curse!

2009-04-04T01:42:00.004-05:00

I didn't want Leïla to be jealous so I really need to write about her too. Now that spring is slowly starting to arrive here I have noticed a difference in Leïla's hair. Let's just say it is starting to "spring" too! Looks like the poor little girl has definately gotten my curls. Thin curly hair, but lots of it! It looks great if it is just washed and let to airdry... then when she wakes up it is a totally mess -- knots and all. For those who knew me when I was little I am sure you will recognize the signature curls -- especially the one in the middle of her forhead

Playin' with mr potatoe head

And Leïla is a big fan of the 80's -- she thinks headbands should ONLY be worn this way!

Her happy girl smile (one of her favorite sayings is "Leïla is a happy girl!")

And a little picture of Sami and her new do. Last summer Samantha decided she wanted to grow her hair out -- I wasn't too happy since I loved her short do, but it was her choice so we went with it. Thursday one of her friends got her hair cut and she came home wanted to get hers cut, so off we went. When we got back she went around the neighborhood saying "aren't I beautiful"! ;)

Future Dance Crew USA

2009-04-02T22:48:00.005-05:00

Dance Crew USA is actually one of Alison's favorite shows. Anyways, just two little video from a little show the kids put on for each other. I love being able to go to all these little shows, and for the time being the girls aren't embarressed to have their mom come.

Future American Idol???

2009-04-01T11:02:00.004-05:00

Doubt it, but here is a little video of a little show the 4th and 5th graders did for the preschool and the rest of the elementary school. Alison did the little rap solo -- future rapper -- hmmmm, probably not ;)

Week 4

2009-03-30T05:57:00.005-05:00

So every Sat in the month of March has been spent working on the landscaping project, just another 2 months or so to go! It is really starting to take form -- you can see where we will be putting in new flower beds, where the stone edging will be, and now there are big "X"'s that mark out where the lighting will be. I doesn't look nice for the time being but you can tell there has been progress. We are trying to save some of our bushes, flowers and plants -- so they have been transfered into the veggie garden until the new flower bed will be ready to house them. There is a 50/50 change they won't make it but we are giving it a try anyways.

A lot of our pebbles, stones, cement and stepping stones got delivered

Digging up the old lightening and re-wiring

One of the new flower beds

And another new one at the cornor of the house

I can't believe the news today

2009-03-28T23:52:00.003-05:00

I can't close my eyes and make it go away ...... So if you have been breathing over the last quarter of a century you know those lines are from Sunday Bloody Sunday. Well U2 is coming to France this summer. At first there was July 11th in Paris and July 15th in Nice. Only problem, on July 11th we are having a party to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, everything is booked and there is no turning back. And to go to Nice is much harder than going to Paris and it is in the middle of the week.... So hubby being a HUGE U2 fan gave up hope of going to the concert. He has already been to 2 but he and his brother wanted to go again. So the July 11th concert sold out really really fast and because of that they opened a second date in Paris on July 12th!! Tickets were supposed to go on sale Friday at 10:30am -- my brother in law was going to try to get online while at work and I said I would try from home. At 9:30 I got cal -- we got them we got them!!! For some reason they went on sale early and my brother in law was able to get 5 tickets, he wanted 7, but 5 is better than nothing! So the day after our party that will be over at 5 or 6am, they will be heading to Paris to see U2 at the Stade de France! So happy for them -- I felt bad that hubby wasn't going to be able to go. Needless he has been walking around with that silly goofy happy face ever since!

It' here now!

2009-03-27T09:37:00.004-05:00

We knew it was coming, we are always a couple steps behind the US, but I think we were hoping it would just somehow get lost on the way over here. It didn't :( The area we live in is know for it's low ubemployement rate -- lots of factories are here and a good share of the population are factory workers. So with the economy slowing down, of coarse the factories are slowing down. So this week 2 of my close neighbors and friends got laid off. It sucks, but the good thing about or socialist gov't is that they won't lose their house or medical insurance or things like that. So the future is looking a bit grim

On a happier note -- last night was our American Book Club pot luck dinner. We try to get together every 2 months or so. So this months' read was "The Kite Runner" buy Khaled Hosseini. What a powerful book! I'm sure a lot of you have already read it, but if you haven't it is really worth it. I really want to do so much research on Afghanistan to get a better undertsanding of what happened in the 80's and 90's. Our next book on our list is "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by the same author -- a couple have already read it and said it is even better than "The Kite Runner" So I can't wait to read that one!

The other book we were to read was totally different "French and Americans - the other shore" by Pascal Baudry. I got through 4 chapters. It's a thinker, you really have to have you thinking cap on for this one, though he has some very interesting opinions. He is French, he was married to an American and live the US and now has moved back to France (if I understood correctly) If you want to take a peak you can downloader teh ebook for free on his website http://www.pbaudry.com/

Totally changing subjects -- today is the Mi-carem -- or literaly, half point through lent. So the made costums at school, based on a theme (this year it was water). Samantha was a pirate and Alison was a star fish. The had a little parade through the town this afternoon and they stop in at the old folks home. It's cute and they have fun -- speaking of the girls I better get going and pick them up from school! Tomorrow will be Sat #4 on your landscaping project -- it is suppose to rain but we will still be out there! Have a great weekend!

Lots of things to share!

2009-03-23T11:54:00.006-05:00

So Sat was more landscaping work -- I love watching it change every Sat. So hubby dug and dug and dug (and will continue to dig for at least 2 more Sats) to get ready to put cement and lay stone bricks. My father in law brought some good soil so we will be able to level out the lawn and such. I shovelled off all the bark on our flower beds and tried to replant tome of my flowers in pots -- though if you know me, you know I don't have a green thumb and so they will probably dry up and die. These pictures were taken just after we got started. I need to get some more to show the day's progress. Hubby had wine tasting last that afternoon and then we had dinner plans with friends -- we were both achy and tired by the time we got home

I finished editting last weekend's session and I just wanted to share 2 more pictures. This little guy is the cutest. He is just 2 weeks older than Leïla but talks so well -- and LISTENS!! Yes it is possible for a toddler to listen! Wow I was totally amazed!

Sunday morning I got up bright and early to hit a big charity garage sale -- I was looking for a love seat/small couch and ended up finding 2 stools and a 1930's baby bath tub. I'm going to sand down the stoods to try and age them a bit (along with a chair someone gave me a couple weeks ago) I can't wait to use the bath tub for a baby session coming up -- I just thought it looked so cool! The girls' liked my new props too since they actually let me take their picture this morning before running off to school.

Check out Sami's smile -- a Big ole whole -- she lost yet another tooth -- that makes 4!!

After I got back from the garage sale we got ready to head over to a firiend's for lunch -- out his back door you get a breath-taking view of a 7th century abby!! Amazing sight -- after lunch we took a nice walk to see the abby up close -- I have seen it many times, but I'm still in aww everytime (Sarah-tan : it's the one we went past on the boat ride with your Mam 10 years ago -- remember???) So busy weekend but we enjoyed the spring like weather -- I took advantage of it today too since it looks like it will be the last day -- tomorrow it is suppose to rain and get cold :(

Oh -- if you want to see a very talented photographer check out this blog -- LindseyQ and on top of her talented she is so friendly and kind. She has helped me out many a time and for that I am so grateful. And if you are in the LA area you might even be lucky enough to have her as your custom photographer!!

I want to be like them!

2009-03-21T12:26:00.002-05:00

They are hubby's aunt and uncle -- he is also hubby's godfather, hubby is their son's godfather, and their son is Sami's godfather. I was just finishing editting pictures from last weekend's baptism and I saw this picture and it got me thinking -- I love how he is looking at his wife so in love! You know how there are some couples that are just "perfect" -- I'm not talking about the sappy, "hunny bunny, crapola" type couple but the type that always are respectful to each other, have that loving look in their eye and have that gentle touch. It is very rare and honestly I don't know if I know many couple like this. So hubby's aunt and uncle have been married for somewhere around 25 years. And everytime we spend an evening with them hubby and I always say "I want to be like them". They don't always agree on everything but even when they disagree their is love and respect in their words. If you ever tell his uncle that he looks nice or that he has lost some weight or whatever he always says something along the lines of "I just want to look nice for my wife" or "look at Anne, I need to keep my apperance up!" I just love it! I love hearing them talk about the little day trips they take together on the weekends, how every 6 months or so the 2 of them go to Paris to "enjoy the magic" How when we are at their place for dinner and they say such nice things about each other -- and it is so sincere. They are so complementary and just the perfect match. I hope when our kids grow up hubby and I will follow their lead -- we want to be like them (and I want to be like her at her age -- isn't she beautiful !!)

babies babies and more babies!!

2009-03-17T04:54:00.004-05:00

I could just about say I was babied out by the end of the weekend! Hahaha! Friday afternoon I had a newborn session with a 2 week old and his adorable big brother and his beautiful parents. He was quiet the trooper and nicely peed all over his daddy ;) So here are just a couple to share

Yes he really is only 2 weeks old and his eyes are really THAT blue!

Sat was hubby's aunt's daughter's baptism (I still haven't figured out what the relation we have with her;) a bit complicated) Hubby worked on the landscaping for 2 hours before we going to church at 11:30 -- unfortunately it started to rain just before the service. It was an service in a beautiful old stone church (basically even town around here has amazing old churches) After the service was a huge 4 coarse lunch with foie gras as an appetizer -- yum yum yum.

baby C with the priest -- he was awsome!

All the kids lite a candle during the service

I had this storyboard printed for them 30X45cm -- the mom loved it!

On Sunday I went to the hospital to do a mini session with a 3 day old baby boy -- he was so calm and laid back, for the parents' sake I hope he stays that way! Hospital pictures are always difficult, the rooms are small and there are 2 people per room -- lighting is good if you are on the window side but if your next to the door it is trickier, and we were, but it all worked out. I just started editting this session so I only have one to share -- look at the glowing new momma!

The spring weather is back and the kids are loving being able to play outside and we are all enjoying that the days are getting longer, we just have to wait for our jump to day light saving time -- I thing it is the March 29th...... off to get some work down, enough play time!! ;)

Forgetfulness...

2009-03-13T04:50:00.005-05:00

Maybe it is age, maybe mommy brain, maybe brain overload -- whatever the reason it is getting to be a really PITA. I used to be able to remember almost everything I had to do without a list. I always did my grocery shopping without a list. I rarely wrote down appointments or meetings -- I just was able to remeber -- well not anymore. It started out probably a year or a year and a half ago... I would almost forget stuff -- ya know the --"wait I know I have something to do today/this evening, now what is it??? Hmmmm -- of yeah a meeting/appointmeny whatever". Then starting around Christmas 2008 my memory has just been failing me. Samantha has speach therapy twice a week for the polyps on her vocal cords -- it is very important that she doesn't miss a session. Well in Dec I totally forgot about one, and I didn't even think about it until the next day. I felt so bad and was so embarrassed to see the therapist after that. I told her that I usually never forget appointments and that it won't happen again. Well it did, at the end of Jan, and then again at the end of Feb. And to make it even worse I have it written in marker on a note pad that is on the wall in tge kitchen -- I walk right past it when I leave the house. So I just thought I was just blocking out the speech therapist. Not, on Tuesday I went shopping to try to find something to wear to a baptism on Sat (7 stores and diodn't find anything). Around 11am my cell phone rang -- my sister in law calling. The conversation goes somthing like this : "Hey we are at your front door " -- "that's nice I'm not there" -- "so you forgot " -- "forgot????? (brain spinning can't figure out what she is talking about" -- "S and I made an appointment for a couple pictures for our invitations" --- lightbulb!!!

It is so scary that I didn't even know why she was at my house. Luckily I was only 10 minutes away and my studio set-up was ready to go. I felt like such an idiot. We did get some cute shots -- they are 2 good friends that have known each other for a long time and they are celebrating their 25th birthdays together.

SO a big brain fart morning... the day goes on -- fastforward to dinner time 8pm. We sit down for dinner and I look at Alison "today is Tuesday" We totally forgot Alison had a meeting to go to at 6pm. Looks like my forgetfulness might be contagious since one of Alison's friends remindered her of the meeting right before she left school -- oh what are we going to do???? So now I have post-it notes all over, I write reminders on my hands -- lists, lists and more lists!!! Augh!! I hope it is only temporary!!

Oh along the lines of my forgetfulness I forgot that most people who read here don't speak French so my last post probably didn't make much sense. My new blog is for my photography business I will be starting on Sept 1st 2009. I am on paid parental leave until Aug so that is why I am waiting until Sept -- plus I have the time to totally think through the business side of things and do porfolio building in the meantime. So that is what will be keeping me busy for the next 5.5 months (and I hold long after that too!)

Better go -- I have a little itty bitty newborn coming over this afternoon -- his parents are dropping him off for a photo session and then are coming beck afterwards for some family shots and some of the big brother!! Can't wait, should be a lot of fun to get my hands on a nice cuddly newborn!

Dare to share...

2009-03-11T05:08:00.002-05:00

I really don't know why I am so afraid to share my new blog link??? Maybe because it means there is no turning back? Maybe because it makes it seem more real? Or maybe it is the reminder that I have only have 5.5 months to go???? Whatever the reason I decided to take the jump -- so here is my new blog link! Jill Brochard Photo

This is how it began....

2009-03-07T11:56:00.003-06:00

(3 plants/bushes.trees got chopped and all the others got major hair cuts!)

I was actually a little late on my pictures -- I took a short nap and woke up to plants that I tried my dangest to grow for the last 7 years, lying in a pile of chopped branches. This morning was the first day of "our" or should I say "hubby's" big landscaping project. So the first step was marking out where we will have our new flower beds -- basically the whole left side of our walkway will be landscaped with 10 stepping stone to get join the walkway and the drive way -- on the right side of the walkway there will be a small landscaped area and then another by the cornor of the of the house.

(The poor things didn't stand a chance!)

This afternoon we went an chose what brickes, stones and various stuff we wanted to use. I'm excited now that I can start to imagine what it will look like. We will try to save some of my plants but I'm afraid we will have to throw out a lot of them. Next weekend will be digging up the ones we want to save and getting the tractor over here to dig up some of the roots -- hopefully by this summer it will be totally finish and next fall we can work on the grass....

(a couple survivors)

(though they got trampled on)

What a cute family....

2009-03-04T08:03:00.004-06:00

Saturday I did a session with this adorable family and their 1 year old daughter. We started out at my house then went to the old abbay -- from the 11th century. The poor little thing was just getting over the stomache flu but was such a trooper just the same. Here a a couple from our session. Of, and don't you think the dad looks like Mr Big from Sex and the City??? Or maybe it is just me!

Dreaming of spring....

2009-03-03T08:03:00.004-06:00

Finally the month of Feb is over -- it is the month I like the least -- it is usually cold and I'm so sick of winter by the time Feb. come around. Luckily the last weekend of Feb was fun of sun and some warmer weather. Sami and I hung out in the hot tub Sat while Leïla was napping and Alison was still on the couch hacking up a lung while watching Hannah Montana. Sat night we had a hot tub party with some of my friends while our hubbies went to a basketball game. The warmer weather also got our boo-ties move on or landscaping project. My brother-in law's friend does some landscaping on the side and we are finally deciding what we want to do. So if the weather holds out we will start digging everything up next weekend. It will be a slow process since we will only be working on it the weekend. I will have too take before and after pictures.
As you can see in the picture of Sami -- the little mouse came to our house once again -- 3 missing teeth and the 4th one is wiggling! We are trying to keep everyone healthy here. Alison went back to school on Monday though she still has an awful cough. Leïla is starting to cough and the girls' school has had an outbreak of the stomach flu........ Come on spring -- I'm sick of winter!!!

P.S. I had a photo session Sat, it was my first one of the year. I had been missing having photography projects going on and it feels good to be doing some again. I have another one book for end of March, one in May and another in June.......

Please!!! No more sickies!!

2009-02-26T07:34:00.002-06:00

I was spot on with my last entry -- Leïla has fever, Sami ended up having full blown flu and now Alison is heading down the flu-road. Samantha had a very high fever for 3 days and that just wiped her out -- She barely move from the couch for a week. Alison started to feel crudy Sun -- with hindsight, it was actually Sat but we had a party to go to Sat evening and she wanted to go so she faked it a little. She ended up falling asleep on the floor -- so not like her. So Sun Alison had a fever and was coughing - no school for her on Mon but Monday evening she was feeling better and begged me to let her got to school -- so I did. Wed. the fever and cough can back and her we are Thursday with 100% flu. So no school tomorrow for her either. So all 3 will have had it -- now I just don't want to be the next one with it. Seriously, people who have kids that are sick all the time -- I don't know how you do it -- I'm wiped!
The was also another sick family member who ended up having to go to the hospital from treatment and care -- my dearly beloved computer! :( We sent it off on Sat and it come back home this morning. The hospital bill made my stomach turn but we are so glad to have him back -- It is sad to know how much my life turns around my computer -- it has everything in it and if it isn't in it I can get the info off internet -- I felt like I was cut off from the world!! So I have a couple days to catch up on all I missed. I also have to edit a session I did last weekend and I have another session this weekend.

1 better, 1 down and 1 to go....

2009-02-16T09:42:00.002-06:00

This morning I snap a quick shot of Samantha and me together -- she was smiling and happy. Now just a couple hours later she has watery eyes, cough and 102°F temp. She is laying in my bed watching a DVD. Leïla has finally gotten rid of her fever and now it is Sami's turn. So it just seems normal that Alison will be getting it in a couple of days.

The little mouse attacks again....

2009-02-15T05:27:00.006-06:00

First of all "Valentine's Day" to everyone! That is something I miss here -- they don't celebrated V-day the same way. It is only for couples, not kids or friends, no V-day parties at school and no cute candies and such. We stopped doing V-day gifts along time ago -- and 3 or 4 years ago we stopped going out to eat on V-day. We were sick of pay way too much for bad service and be crowded in a restaurant. So now we do our V-day dinner at home. Hubby goes shopping and does dinner. This year I learnt how to make "Mojitos" so it was our V-day cocktail. Alison was at a slumber party and Samantha had here best friend sleep over. We feed the girls and then let them have a movie night in Samatha's room. Leïla even stayed with them for the first p. The last couple days Leïla had a fever that just wouldn't go away, so we were glad to see her feeling well enough to stay up a little later than usual. We are now on day two without any medicine! Yeah!!! Anyways, we had a really nice dinner with wonderful French wines and enjoot being in a noisey crowded place. We will be going out to eat for V-day later this month ;)

So now concerning my title -- the little mouse strikes again -- not the one in my attic, though I need to set the mouse trap again -- the one that comes when the girls loose their teeth. So Wed. Samantha lost her 2nd tooth -- she got 2 euros that she spent on candy the next day and that she went and handed out to all her friends and her sisters. Then on Friday Alison lost her 13th tooth. She lost it around midnight. Unfortunately the little mouse forgot to leave her money the next morning before she had to get up for gymnastic practice. She came downstairs all weepy..... "my tooth box fell off my bed and the tooth is gone but the little mouse didn't leave me anything" ---- lightbulb went off! I tried to calm Alison down and hubby went to "look" for the money that must have rolled under her bed somewhere! "Of coarse" he found it and everything was all better in just a couple of second. What is funny about all this is Alson knows that we are the ones that leave her money but she looked so dissappointed just the same! So an hour ago Alison lost her 14th tooth -- so you better believe that her 2 euros are already to go, I will not forget again!

I'm adding a picture of a now healthy Leïla, smiles and all -- she was so pitiful with her fever that I needed to snap a picture of her happy face!

Here is a picture of Samantha and her best friend

On the photography front....

2009-02-12T00:48:00.005-06:00

I know this probably won't intrest most people but this blog is also so I can keep a record of my steps in photography along with a record of the girls. So Jan was a very slow month, which isn't surprising since I did a lot of sessions in Dec. But I did get some pretty exciting news -- the voluntary fire department wants me to do the yearly calander again this year. Here is aône of the pictures from this years calander They got a lot of positive feedback on my pictures and want me to come back again. I also had someone ask me to do their wedding in 2010 -- I did a newborn session for them a couple months ago and now they want me to do their wedding. Her is a picture from their newborn session So right now I have 2 wedding booked for 2009 and one for 2010 -- looks like things are progressing!

Here are couple of shots of the girls -- you can see they were freezing and it was so windy, but it was the day of our power outage so we had to do omething!

One way ticket Texas/France

Christmas Vacation

*Sigh*

Birthday Girls

Vaction Part Two

Bad bad blogger!

What a week!

Slackin' again

Our little weekend trip

Sami's first gymnastics competition

Picture overload

Whoa -- it's been a month!

Happy Easter!

What a champion | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

Good news

The vampires are coming

Just some pictures from our trip

Here they are! | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

The proud cousins!! | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

Yeeeeeehaw!! | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

Howdy! | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

We're in Texas | Photogarphe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

Just some pictures | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

Keep on bakin'! | Photographe Vendée Photographe Les Herbiers Photographe Chantonnay

A favor please?? --Could you vote for you favorite picture

Proud Momma! | Photographe Vendée, Photographe Les Herbiers, Photographe Chantonnay

We're getting better | Photographe Vendée

Counting my blessings | Photographe Vendée

Trying something new | Photographe Vendée

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! | Photographe Vendée

Starting Christmas-y stuff | Photographe Vendée

What has been taking up my time, | Photographe Vendée, Photographe mariage Vendée

Rambling | Photographe Vendée, Photographe mariage Vendée

Hey -- ya never know!!!

Happy Halloween | Photographe Vendée

Newspaper article | Photographe Vendée

Forget to share some news! | Photographe Vendée

My Sami Sue | Photographe Vendée

Some trip pictures | Photographe Vendée

Whoa!! Almost a month has gone by! | Photographe Vendée

My poor neglected child | Photographe Vendée

9 years ago .... | Photographe Vendée

Scared, extied, scared, excited .... | Photographe Vendée

Hola amigos! | Photographe Vendée

Trip updates | Photographe Vendée

Back, then gone again, and back again and off again | Photographe Vendée

A couple days of vacation | Photographe Vendée

Just a picture of THE MONSTER | Photographe Vendée

Where did July go??? | Photographe Vendée

Just a little slideshow I made for our party.... | Photographe Vendée

Just a quick picture from yesterday | Photograhe vendée

Party Party Party! | Photographe Vendée

Cha- ching!!! | Photographe Vendée

Happy fourth of July! | Photographe Vendée

Another day at the beach.... | Photographe mariage Vendée

Hit the Beach! | Photographe Vendée

A little flashback..... | Photographe Vendée

ER trip and operation | Photographe Vendée

Behind again! | Photographe Vendée

Because I said I would | Photographe Vendée

Short and Sweet | Photographe Vendée

She's my champion! | Photographe Vendée

Big Stuff | Photographe Vendée

Tidbits | Photographe Vendée

Come on life --- slow down! | Photographe Vendée

Opposites attract! | Photographe Vendée

Busy weekend -- but fun too!

Tired tired tired -- but it has paid off... | Photographe Vendée

May Day, May Day .... | Photographe Vendée

First Session w/ my 40D | Photographe Vendée

Week 7 -- I think ;) | Photographe vendée

Last session with my Canon Rebel...

Rowan Grace Maisey

Help me chose --- please!

Progress progress!

Spring Break is over!

We're back .... and we're off!

Happy Easter!

How many princesses do you see??

What a strong little girl!

Sigh