Today is my 30th birthday.  I have been dreading this day for some time….feeling sad that I am no longer 20 something, carefree and young – and wondering how those years went by sooo quickly.  But you know what?  Today I realized how lucky I am.   I’m 30 yeah…but I’m not over the hill yet!  I have 2 beautiful little girls who are an absolute joy…a husband who adores me… I have wonderful family and friends… I have a successful business and a career that I love more and more everyday, I have my health….I am blessed.

So today..I woke up to find a bunch of periwinkle coloured balloons at the bedroom door..and my five year old tapping me on the shoulder telling me to come downstairs and outside for a big surprise.  I stumbled down the stairs, and looked out the window to find 30 energizer bunnies covering my front lawn for everyone to see.  Secret is out!!  Since today is order pickup day I have had a few clients come and see this display and wish me a happy birthday.. as well as Canada Post, UPS, and FedEx delivery people too!   Combined with all of the well wishes on facebook today I feel like a very special birthday girl!!!  THANK YOU!   Below is a little photo montage of my birthday surprises and gifts…yes-my husband had custom made M&M’s for me (our wedding anniversary was a couple days ago)…purple of course, “ps I love you” with our picture of them!  Cool huh?  White Roses are my favourite…and the best spot on the deck – the lounge chair was my very early birthday present back in June – with a good book and adult beverage is where I’ll be spending the afternoon!  CHEERS!

Ahh..the last weekend of August…where the heck did the summer go?! Seriously.  Although yesterday and the beginning of this week is HOT and very sunny – I’m starting to notice a little chill in the air in the early morning and night now…and maybe its all of the “Back to School” media frenzy going on right now..but I definitely feel like fall is approaching and fast!

Yesterday was just a lazy Sunday at home..and really, is there anything better?   Top right – having my morning coffee on the deck..love seeing the steam!  Top left – it got so warm in the afternoon that it was even too hot to be outside..the kids abandoned the pool and it was naptime for everyone…even me! haha   I curled up with a good book and a blanket on my reading couch!   Mid right – Erin had a good time winding herself up with the swing and spinning out…and then needed to hold onto the pole she was so dizzy!  Bottom left – More of my marigolds are dying everyday..fall is coming!  Bottom right – our resident deck spider, having a BIG meal!

Rain, rain, go away..come again another day!  I heard this little song over and over this weekend!  On Saturday we had a busy day going to Canada’s Wonderland for my husbands company picnic – which unfortunately was cut short due to the downpour as well – so on Sunday we took it easy!   Top left..rain spoils the backyard deck fun..Top right – spending the morning surfing “AutoTrader” for our next vehicle!    Mid left – reading a good book and watching cartoons on a rainy day, what is better than that? Mid right – even Simba was just chillin’ out!  Bottom left – what do you have for lunch on a rainy day?  My homemade clam chowder and biscuits of course!   Bottom right – Family movie night on the big screen!

This is the second gorgeous little girl that came in to model the hats and headbands provided by Naomi of “Baby Z’s Headbands & Things” isn’t she just a doll?  Again, check out Naomi’s booth at the St. Jacobs farmers market, every Thursday and Saturday!

A little while ago, Naomi of “Baby Z’s Headbands & Things” contacted me and asked if I would be interested in doing some product photography for her new upcoming website!  I was thrilled and said yes of course!  I put out an urgent casting call for baby girls so that I could model all of these new cute hats and headbands, and I had 2 immediate replies!  This is my first gorgeous little model, and just two of the hats..there are more headbands and such too, but you’ll have to check out Naomi’s facebook page to see the rest!  You can find these awesome things at her booth at the St. Jacobs market every Thursday and Saturday!

Welcome to the very first edition of “Sundays on the blog”!  In attempt to keep myself on track with my new commitment to studio hours, I will be documenting my Sunday afternoons and posting a montage of the photos!  This is going to be so much fun for me…taking photos of my family-which sadly I have been slacking on-and also having some great memories recorded!

Yesterday we spent the afternoon on the deck! (I’m sure this is going to be a recurring theme for the rest of the summer!)  Top left photo – the girls made me “flower soup” and poured it on my feet….not sure what was up with that..but…whatever! Top rights – Close up macro photos of my backyard flowers..a passion of mine!  Mid Left – Erin, being oh so sweet, and a little silly!   Mid Right – playing princess wouldn’t be complete without a sparkly necklace!  Bottom Left – Megan in her teeny weeny bikini (she has worn it since she has been a year old, I think this will be the last year for it! haha) picking flowers for the “flower soup”.  Bottom right – Playing pirate on the deck swing, which was apparently the boat – with toilet paper rolls!  “Aaarrrr Matey!”

Celebrating Sundays………Rachelle

There are a great number of people that think  ‘Wow, working from home would be SO amazing! You’re so lucky!’ — and yes,  they are right! ……most of the time.  For everything that is awesome about working from home, there is also a downside that many people do not realize.  I’m going to talk about just a few of them below…

Except for 2 days a week, my daughters are home with me.  Bonus, I don’t pay for childcare, and also if they are sick and need to stay home, I have the flexibility to take the time to be home with them!  But on the other hand, most days this means I have to juggle my work around them..and often, working away at my laptop with them in the background.  (even while beginning this blog post, I have already taken a break to make a snack for my daughter, and prevented the other one from colouring on the wall) For those of you that work in a nice quiet office..can you imagine being on the phone with a client, and suddenly your child decides they would like to announce loudly that they have to go potty?  Or what if suddenly Dora the Explorer starts blaring?  Welcome to my daily life   On evenings and weekends, when my husband is home, I often take advantage of the time that I can get work done without interruption because he is taking over the childcare!  I think its great that the girls have “Daddy time” – they go shopping or do something fun together.  The downside of this – I miss out on having family time because I’m working..and I feel guilty.

Awesome – I work from home..if I want I can crawl out of bed on a Saturday and work in my pajamas all day if I want to!  Downside – the doorbell rings and its a client stopping by unannounced to pick up their print order…and I’m in my PJ’s at 2 in the afternoon…not cool.   If you really thought about it, how often do you plan on doing nothing for a day but then quickly decide to run out to the store or go to catch a matinee movie?  What if you couldn’t do that because a client told you that they would “stop by sometime in the afternoon” and you had to wait for them instead? Bummer.

Awesome – I work from  home..I can throw a load of laundry in the wash while I work!  Downside – while I’m working on business things..I’m constantly thinking “I should throw a load of laundry in the wash” or “I should empty the dishwasher” or “I should get the vacuuming done today”….you get the idea.  And while I’m doing the laundry, or emptying the dishwasher or vacuuming – I’m usually thinking about business things..”I should get that blog post up today” or “I should get that session edited” or “I need to respond to that email”…….my life is in a constant state of “I should be doing x…”  Granted I think there is a certain amount of this for the average person, thinking about work when at home, and thinking about home while at work – but the difference is that for the average person who is AT a workplace outside of the home you don’t have the ability to ACT on those thoughts, so there is still a separation there which makes it easier.

And what about relaxation?  For a lot of people, you have set days and hours that you go to a place of work.  When you’re done, you leave that place and come home, and have a different mindset about relaxation.  How many people say “TGIF! (Thank God Its Friday!) Meaning-work is done for the week..time OFF the clock..and now they have 2 days to not think  about work until Monday morning!  Weekend! Woohoo!  This is actually difficult for me..yesterday was Sunday, I worked on a couple of things in the morning, but then sat on my back deck and enjoyed sitting in the sun with a good book.  This was actually a conscious decision for me! To say to myself, “Its a beautiful sunny day, I need to take a break from work and enjoy it before the summer is over!”

Think about it…your home is your work, you work is your home.  Its difficult to separate the two and stay sane for a long period of time!  In attempt to protect my family time and my off hours – I am now implementing official Studio Hours.

There is going to be a period of adjustment I’m sure..and I am going to need help both from my clients respecting these hours, AND from my family reminding me of these hours.

So here they are – Studio Hours:

Phone and Email hours: Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm.

Any email/voicemail received outside of these times will be responded to the next business day.

Order Pickup: Wednesdays 9 am-11 am OR 7 pm-9 pm

If you miss pickup day, you will have to wait until the following week!

Photoshoots:

(by appointment only)

Newborns – Tuesdays & Thursdays at 10am

Maternity – Tuesdays & Thursdays at 7pm

Saturday appointments are limited and subject to an additional fee of $50

Ordering Sessions:

(by appointment only)

Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10am and 7pm.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING!

I have searched high and low for this basket – no joke.  It comes from a craft store down in the USA called “Hobby Lobby” -and they no longer carry this basket.  I paid quite a dear price for it, buying it from someone second hand – but I had to have it!  The size and material makes it absolutely perfect!  Lucky, it arrived this week JUST as I was welcoming this little one in the door to model some very cute hats and headbands (more on those later!).  Thank you SO much to her parents for responding to that very urgent casting call – and for letting me borrow your little sweetheart to model this basket too! Enjoy the sneak peek!

This little one was a bit late coming to see me as she arrived a couple of weeks early, but we had a fantastic photoshoot just in the nick of time, as mom tells me now that she is NOT sleeping “like that” anymore!

She was quite a little smiler as you can see below…oh! And check out my new basket! I think its awesome

And this next one just makes me giggle…you can almost hear her saying “neener neener neener!”  haha

Mom and Dad refer to these adorable little bundles of joy as “the twinkies” and I just think that is the cutest thing!   I’m betting these twins will be the biggest ones I will ever photograph! Baby girl seen below on top,  is the older of the two, weighing 6:11!  And her “little” brother born just a minute later weighed in at a whopping 8:6!  Congratulations on your beautiful little babies, and enjoy the sneak peek!