In Love With Their New Sister

Each of the older Reno kids are totally in love with the littlest Reno.  Can you tell?

A Little Slow Getting the Pictures Out

Ok, so even though I did have three kids, they were three, fairly independent kids, affording me lots of time to play around with my photos and put them on the computer. Alright, well maybe it wasn't LOTS of time, but at least there was a little time.  With Baby Louisa joining the gang things are a bit different.  I did enlist the help of Mom Mom this afternoon to snap a few pictures of the kiddos.  Here is one of my favorites.  I promise there will be more to come soon- just as soon as Louisa decides that night is for sleeping and daytime is for being awake!

She's' Here!

We have just gotten home today with the newest addition to our family.  It is late and I am just now downloading all of my pictures.  You can be sure I will post more over the next couple of days.  I know there are a few people who want to see pictures but, since it is getting late, and the little one still needs to be fed I can only give you a quick peek of our little addition:

(Click to enlarge)

From Five to Six

Well, tomorrow is the big day.  If all goes well, tomorrow will be the day that our family increases by one.  No longer will we be a family of five.  We will become a family of six.  Wow!  It is a little hard to comprehend that life as we know it will change tomorrow.  Somehow, even after having three kids, it is still hard to prepare for such a change.  Sure, rooms have been moved around,  baby clothes are out and washed,  the bassinet is put together, teeny, tiny diapers have been bought, the baby's name has been spoken so that all of the kids know who is coming, yet still we know that tomorrow will be a turning point for our family.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we transition from a family of five to a FAMILY of SIX!

Hello Fall!! Yummy Apple Recipe to Share!

In honor of the first official day of fall I thought I would share a yummy apple recipe that I made tonight.  Not only did it get Ed's seal of approval but it also got Benjamin's, which isn't always so easy to get.  Best of all, it is quick and easy to whip up.

Freestyle Apple Tart

1 ready to use refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of 15 oz pkg)

4 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened ( I used the reduced fat)

3 red or green apples, thinly sliced

1/4 c sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp cinnamon sugar

1 c thawed Cool Whip

Heat oven to 450.  Line  9 inch pie plate with crust.  Carefully spread cream cheese in 6 inch circle in the center.

Toss apples with sugar and flour, spoon over cream cheese.

Fold pie crust partially over apples.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Bake 25 minutes, covering loosely with foil for the last 5 minutes.  Cool.  Serve with whipped topping.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Recipe from Kraft's Food & Family magazine.  To subscribe and receive your own, free copy  each season go here.

I'm a Finalist!

I am so excited!  Tonight, as I was reading the blogs I like to keep up with, I discovered that my photo had been chosen as one of 15 finalists for a photography contest.  Please go check out the entries and vote for the "sweetest" ones you see.  You may recognize my entry from my cute little subjects ( or the fact that I posted it somewhere on the blog earlier in the month).  Please go vote here:  MCP blog  Thanks!!!

Go H Go!

(click to enlarge)

Harrison Update:  Harrison had his second soccer game this weekend and is getting better and better at going after the ball.  Last spring we enjoyed watching Harrison run around the field waving at us as he went by.  This season, he still smiles and waves occasionally, but he knows that he is supposed to go after the ball.  Go Harrison!

Liza's New 'Do and New 'Tude

Well, here she is with her big girl haircut!  Ed and I think she looks older with her slightly shorter hair.  Ms. Amy did such a nice job taking over where Harrison the hairstylist left off.  When she left the salon she was even sportin' some cute little curls.  Unfortunately, because of the weather, the curls didn't make it into the picture.  

Along with her new hairdo, our little Liza has also found a new attitude.  She shocked us all tonight by telling her brothers to "shut up!".  We have all tried to guess where she might have picked up her new phrase as it isn't commonly used in our our house.  The boys are quite sure that she has picked it up from some scene in the Little Mermaid (Liza's favorite movie), but neither Ed nor myself can recall a single incident where the phrase is used in that movie or its' sequels.  So, it looks like we have a new issue to work on with Liza.  The hair is fixed but the attitude now needs a little adjustin'.  Never a dull moment around here!

Sometimes You Have to Laugh

"What IS that?" you might be wondering.  Well, let me tell you.  It is my little Liza's hair.  This afternoon, as I was on the phone in another room, my little Harrison and Liza went off to play together.  I should have known it was too quiet.  While I was still on the phone Harrison came up to me with a wad of hair in his hand saying, "Look what Liza did mommy!"  As I raced past him I was a bit disturbed to see the trail of hair on our bathroom floor.  After inspecting Liza's head and finding that the chunks of hair were taken from the back, I quickly deduced that it was NOT Liza who had done the cutting but rather my little Harrison!

Harrison finally fessed up and was sent to his room for a timeout.  Twice before Harrison has played barber, but it has always been his own hair.  This is the first time he has ventured to try out his cutting skills on another person's hair.  Just when I think he is over his haircutting phase he moves on to using his sister's hair.  Oh my!

It was all I could do to take a picture of the hair on the floor.  I couldn't bear to take a picture of my little LuLu with the new layers in the back of her head.  Tomorrow she will visit my hairstylist to get a new look ( which thankfully, she seems excited about).  I will post pictures of Liza's new hairstyle tomorrow.

While I know he is upset by it, Harrison, the Hairstylist to Toddlers, has been put into early retirement ( at least we hope he has!)  Tune in tomorrow to see Liza's new "do".

I've Entered a Photography Contest!

I received an announcement yesterday from a photography professional whose blog I watch ( MCP Actions).  She was announcing a contest with some great prizes.  The competitive part of me perked up and wondered if I could use my new photography and Photoshop skills to enter the contest.  Now, because I have absolutely nothing else to do with my time ( so what if the boys' room still needs a little rearranging, and the baby's room could be cleaned up a bit more for her arrival?) I spent a little time last night playing around and preparing an entry for the contest.  

The contest wanted us to use some of the photographer's products to create something with a "sweet theme" to advertise her products.  Above is what I came up with.  What do you think?

All in a Day

(Click to enlarge photo)

Once upon a time I used to think of Saturdays as lazy, lounge around, do whatever kind of days.  Of course, that is before I had kids.  Now that Benjamin and Harrison are my little athletes Saturdays are days filled with lots of activities.  Ben's day started nice and early this morning when he left the house with Ed at 6:45am in order to make it to his football pictures on time.  The rest of us left the house at a more reasonable time of 8:30 to make it to Benjamin's kick off at 9am.  From football the kids and I came home with Ed's parents to set up the crib that they brought us.  No sooner did we get it together than it was time to get Harrison in his soccer uniform and out to the soccer field for his game.  From soccer it was right to Target to pick up a birthday gift for Ben's teammate.  We rushed back home, picked up Ben's swimsuit and then we were off to drop him off at his buddy's birthday party.  About an hour and a half later, it was back to the friend's house to pick up Big Ben and by then it was dinner time.  Whew!  Can we slow down yet?  So, as you can see, Saturday's are anything but our lazy, lounge around kind of days.  Funny thing though, I don't think I would have it any other way!

Latest Layout

(Click image to enlarge)

Here is my latest digital scrapping layout.  It has been some time since I have done one.  I have been having too much fun taking and editing my pictures.  Glad that some of those pictures have finally made it onto a layout.  Now before you go and get all impressed let me just share that the layout is a product of an online class I am taking at Jessica Sprague's website.   The class I am taking is a two week class focusing on writing and typography- two things I could keep improving in.  She provided us with the template and this great digital paper kit so that we could make the layout our own.  If you are at all interested in learning how to scrapbook on your computer I highly recommend her online classes.  They are awesome.  Her website is also where I took my online photography class this summer AND to top it off- she lives in NC.  Bottom line- if you want to learn how to make pages like this with your digital pics, support a fellow North Carolinian and visit her website!

Guest Starring My Niece, Molly!

I couldn't resist posting this photo board that I made of my niece, Molly.  How cute is she?  She and my Harrison are two peas in a pod.  Both are sweet and spirited children.  My sister and I love to share stories about what their latest antics are.  It is amazing that they are so much alike.  My theory is that it has something to do with their birth order.  Both have an older sibling of the same sex and a younger sibling of the opposite sex.  Surely, this must account for some of the ways they are alike, right? 

On another note, both Molly and Harrison have been my best models to date.  Something about posing for the camera and being able to see themselves makes them happy.  I have the easiest time capturing their cute little spirits.  These pictures illustrate how their spirits just bubble right out.

Note to Molly, thanks for being a guest star on my blog.  Your Aunt Jenn-ie loves you!

End of Summer

(Click picture to enlarge.)

I confess, these pictures aren't from today.  I took these pictures one afternoon the week before school started.  Seems like this summer if we were outside for any length of time the kids, especially Liza, thought it was popsicle time.  Anytime we are outside now, Liza is looking up at me saying, "Popsicle, mommy?"  I had been wanting to do something with these pictures so I decided, hey, you have a blog!  Put them on there.  So, here you go- a look at my cute kids, enjoying a good old summertime treat- popsicles!

Lose For Good

If you have been thinking about losing a little bit of weight, now is a great time to join Weight Watchers.  Weight Watchers is launching their Lose For Good Campaign.  This is an awesome campaign aimed at helping both members and those less fortunate.  For the next 6 weeks, for each pound that WW members lose, WW will donate the equivalent of one pound of food to those who are underfed.  Now, if that isn't enough to tempt you to join let's throw out there the fact that there is no registration fee right now.  You can join WW for just the cost of the regular meeting price!  So, what have you got to lose ( besides that extra weight)? Find a meeting and see how many pounds you can lose over the next six weeks.  You will be losing for your own good (bye bye extra pounds) and for the good of those less fortunate who are in need of food.  

Liza's Big Day

 

It was a big day for our little Liza Lu.  Today was her first day of preschool.  For the past few weeks we have been building it up for her.

I taught her to say her teacher's name, Neumann.

Harrison reminded her not to get into time out.

Benjamin told her not to bite.

Ed told her to have fun.

All we needed was for the day to arrive and it finally did.  We got ready this morning without a fuss ( unless you consider insisting on a "big tail" instead of the two pony tails that her mommy had made her).  She was excited to wear her little red shoes that she received from her cousins Molly and Chelsea and she insisted on wearing her "Liza bag" on her arm for most of the morning.  

Yes, there were a few tears as she realized that Mommy wouldn't be staying with her but she was a big girl and stayed with her teachers.  Her day went well and she was able to tell us that she played in the kitchen and that she painted with purple, pink and red.  I think her favorite thing to share though was the fact that a boy got in time out for throwing something- what we aren't quite sure.  All in all I think the day was a success.  She may even want to go back on Friday!

Back to School for H

Usually Harrison is my best "model".  He doesn't mind posing for pictures while mommy practices her photography.  Well, this morning was different.  It was time for his back to school picture and as you can see by the photo, he wasn't too happy.  Of course, before he gave me that unforgettable look we had had words over coming downstairs to brush his hair and teeth, getting a pair of socks and answering his mommy when I speak to him.  ( All of that was going on while Liza was pitching a fit about me doing her hair!  Can you tell our house was fun this morning?)  Anyway, I finally did coax a smile out of my boy when I reminded him that he was my BEST model.  I must say he is a cutie-patootie!

His first day of school went great.  He went right in his new classroom, leaving me and Liza standing in the doorway waving bye-bye to his back as he went off to play with his new friends.  Although I didn't get too much information out of him about his day he did tell me that his snack was two crackers and one thing of fruit chewies- exactly two crackers and one fruit chewy thing- no seconds!  Perhaps tomorrow I will find out more than what he had for snack.

Tomorrow will be Liza's first day of school.  Hopefully, she will be a bit more cooperative about having her first day of school picture made.  Tune in tomorrow to see how our little Liza does going to school for the first time.