The Incredible Edible "POWDERED" Egg

Powdered eggs.
I know what you are thinking - and before you turn your nose up and walk away - you tell me "Have you ever started OR wanted to start to bake something, only to realize that you have everything but the EGGS?!#?"
Well...look no further than your own pantry :) I've had these cans of powdered perfection sitting on the shelf for awhile (along with all my other unused food storage) and decided I'd better get to using it or at least learning how to use it.
Now I have to preface - I have only used these in baked items where it would be impossible to detect (so far cakes, rolls and bread). NO-we don't eat scrambled eggs with them. Yes...I have baked them in items and given them to unsuspecting neighbors and friends :) he he...
Don't freak...I haven't done anything wrong...just experimented a little and I haven't heard any complaints - at least none to my face-(except from my husband, but his had to do with frosting which didn't contain any eggs.)
So, without further adieu, let's have these guys stand up and introduce themselves (you'll have to excuse the poor product photography...I was in a hurry and wanted to eat the cake not take pictures of it!)

Matt thought there was too much frosting...that's the only reason I made the cake...and I don't like chocolate :)
I also think sheet cake is better the next day when it comes out of the fridge...I'm not a warm cake person..but desperate times call for desperate measures...

This was a buttermilk Texas Sheet Cake (I'm hooked on anything buttermilk ever since my mom and dad made Alton Brown's buttermilk pancakes at Christmas-pancakes, syrup, cornbread, cake, biscuits?).

Gross out all you want...but I'll be baking a chocolate cake in my solar oven with my powdered eggs when the grocery stores are cleaned out (okay...so I can't even type that last line without laughing out loud! Maybe I should add that the .22 will be sitting next to me?)

Next up on the list...powdered butter...can't wait!

(I really like Emergency Essentials for all the weird food storage items - I went to check their site and sure enough...butter is on sale - must be my lucky day.)

*I have probably just put myself in the category of the gross food storage blogs that my sister was telling me about, but I stand by my chocolate cake and homemade rolls...

Superman meets Spaceballs.

And let's throw in our favorite pair of boots...without any socks...so they can smell really really bad.

Sleep well...

I think we wore this little one out today...he should sleep well tonight :) And his mom should go to sleep too :) with this little image to dream about...

Little Boy Blue

That's all I could think of when I was processing the images on this blue fabric. His name is not "blue" its Bridger - but that's all I'm going to say...I can't be spoiling all the information on his baby announcements :)

I think babies with tons of hair get put in the "special" category. It's like my little red-head neice...you can't help but gasp or give a little shout of joy when you see it. (I remember Matt slicking back our 6 week old daughters hair and hairspraying it-in an attempt to get it to lay down...only to have it poof back up in about 5 minutes!)

This was my second favorite from the session...proof that they have a loving mother :)Darn cheesecloth...never cooperates.

Can't WEIGHT...

to post some more!
(so funny...past my bedtime)

Senior "B"

I love having a senior guy in front of my camera...of course they're only there because of their mama's! But that's okay...we shot in my favorite little alley...which I can now say I survived a Whiskey Row brawl in!

Be Mine.

Now.
He wins for the Valentine's card this year.
(Every year I forget that this holidy wipes a mother of school age children out...and that 2 year-olds just dump the sprinkles on the floor and then lick them up.)
Laina insisted on the black back drop-it was a little formal for me...but then again...that's our Laina.

I love the toothless grin here...he swallowed another tooth at lunch today...I told him he probably needs to write the tooth fairy and let her know.

Year of Mother: Part 2

So I find myself "saving" up really good mother moments...and if I've already done one for the month, the thought does enter my mind, "well I could just save it for next month"....Hmm...didn't say this would be easy.
We took the opportunity to transform our "snow day" into an afternoon of sledding. We drove up the street (10 seconds from our house) and let the kids loose on some short little hills. Please disregard the huge metal tubes and fences in the background...I'm happy to say that no one got hurt. We didn't have one crying incident from an injury...now little McLaren screamed his head off the entire ride down with his mother, but that does not apply ;) I really should have titled this "wipeout" 'cause those are the best images! (but then I wouldn't get my "Year of Mother" credit for this month).

To be a young kid again...(and not a fat pregnant person :)

This is the glam train...true fashionistas while sledding! Now you might be wondering why I didn't jump out of the way and save them...

"and miss this shot!!!!!@!#$"? (don't worry...the fence was really forgiving)

He wanted to be "The flying tomato...but with blonde hair...we call him the flying potato".

This next image was taken right after he shoved an unsuspecting sledder down the hill...he was much happier on top of the hill, he would NOT get on a sled.

Wow the hill looks really really steep...didn't seem that way!

Some teeny-boppers walked across the street...and showed us how to really sled...

And catch air...

Or wipeout!

Proof that some people can ALWAYS look good in a shot no matter what, where, when...

Further proof that some will always struggle in a shot (Macky looks great...but couldn't someone have pushed my high hat down? and told me to suck in my cheeks?)

And the winning image from our wonderful afternoon goes to Maggie...the best sport of all!

If it wasn't for her...Laina would never have gotten on a sled!

Just a "little" dusting.

Yesterday morning we woke up to this:And perhaps one of my favorite images ever...
Now you might be thinking..."My goodness..it sure looks early for those kids to be up!" Well...there seems to be this strange phenomenon that happens in this home whenever it is a Saturday, Holiday, or Snow Day. Everyone wakes up and gets out of bed on their own, and very early. If only we could transfer that to the school days when no one wants to get out of bed before 7:45am...and there's crying and wailing and gnashing of teeth! Remarkable...truly remarkable. Take today for instance...Indy is already dressed, has eaten breakfast, and is outside playing and it is 7:50am...it's a 2-hr. delay for school :)We started the day early...and by 9am I had already thrown 2 sets of clothes in the dryer...comforted McLaren through 3 meltdowns (pun intended) and helped his older brother...

We finally had to set up a "crying-comforting station" in front of the fireplace. Note the red hands and nose...I tried to be sympathetic...but this was probably the 4th time in 2 hours that someone had come back in the house dripping wet and sobbing. Snow isn't all that its cracked up to be when it only comes once a year and you're ill-equipped.

His younger brother understood the pain and had ceased going out anymore.Now Laina...waited until it was a bit warmer. Got all dressed up...and went outside and had a ball. (Note: the younger brother and photographer liked staying indoors to watch the fun.)
We also went sledding later in the afternoon...but I think that deserves a "year of the mother part: 2" post...definitely.

The kids ended the day by unanimously agreeing that "Hot Snow" is the way to go. That way (according to Laina) you could wear a bathing suit and play in the snow and not get cold. I think we'll visit the sand dunes next month.

Tickle Time.

I was hired to shoot a series of "tickle" images for a book by its author. I immediately thought of my friend Ade who is completely at home in front of my camera (its not an easy thing to be in front of the camera...believe me, I've tried and its just not!) Anyway I knew she would be able to give me the shots we were looking for, and she didn't disappoint...
The theme was taking off shoes and tickling the feet...with growing laughter until we reached full-on belly laughs. We did this over and over and over...like 10 times. (Keep in mind we had 2 little boys here...not an easy task either....but promises of ice cream seemed to really help).
By the end we really were all laughing because to make yourself burst into giggles for no reason is really a funny thing...I kinda feel bad for actors...probably not too fun doing a funny scene like 100x's.

See what I mean...she's beautiful and relaxed and very comfortable in her laughing...oh! and the kids are cute too! :) (but c'mon we all know its about the mom)

Orange you glad...

A friend gave me some oranges last week. She told me about how she had been juicing and juicing and juicing -- all week long. After she told me this I thought back to a fond childhood memory of my own...one that I'd like documented. I remember my father taking us over to a friends house (hint: they had 2 dalmations ;) we must have had my cousins with us (it would be highly unusual if my dad had not recruited workers for the task at hand). We started picking oranges and grapefruits. He had a red F-150 and we filled the entire bed of it with citrus. Then we drove home, the truck was heavy-laden with much fruit. Then he set up the "juicing stations". We had brought back a huge steel-stand juicer from Guadalajara (we had visited my grandparents there) and it was the heavy-duty kind, with the gigantic handle that you pushed down and out came the juice. He had to have gathered other juicers because there is no way we could have made it through on just one. I have no idea how long we were there, or how many hundreds of oranges and grapefruits we juiced....or what he even did with all that juice, but it was certainly memorable enough for both myself and my cousin to remember...and laugh about NOW (I don't think we were laughing then...probably crying from citrus stinging wounds).

So, I cut up some of these oranges my friend had given me, and left them on the counter with a juicer. My unsuspecting children wandered in and actually fought over who got to use the juicer and squeeze my oranges for me! Tricky...perhaps, but man it sure was good juice!

I chose to document it this as proof of happiness in their working...in case they happen to have "misguided" memories...