Kiss Me! I'm Irish

Top o' the morning to ya! Hope everyone has a shamrockin' Saint Patty's Day! Amaya and I had a little fun with a cute hat and her "pinch proof" tee shirt. What sort of fun things do you with your family to celebrate?

 I think she was pretending to sleep. But look at those crazy long eyelashes!

See you guys next time :)

always,

astreia

Won't you be my Sweetheart?

What do you think of Valentine's Day? Is it "just another day"? Or do you go all out with candy, decor and presents?

Jesse and I have never celebrated it. I don't dislike the holiday, per say, but I don't feel like you need to have a special day to celebrate love. Birthdays, yes. Anniversaries, yes. I'll even take a "just because I love you" day. We simply don't buy into all the Valentine's Day hype; we do things in our own way. 

If other folks want to celebrate it, I support their right to.... and I'll offer a special Valentine's Day photo shoot from Astreia B Photography (wink, wink)

When it comes to the kids, we try to do something special because they talk about it in school and such. Nothing terribly fancy, but a little treat or Valentine's craft is cool with us. We did a styled shoot for Facebook and had some fun!

I know you guys take pictures of your kids. Doesn't matter if it's on a professional level or just snapshots. With kids, sometimes I feel like you can take 700 pictures and only 3 of them will be good ones. Here's another behind the scenes photo. Andy photo bombed this one and didn't even know it.

Behind the scenes: Jesse had to get the chair ready for Miss Amaya. He and I work well as a team. He would probably never admit it, but I think he enjoys doing photography with me.

Thanks for stopping by today! 

always,

astreia

Happy New Year (a couple months later)

Yes, I am aware it's March. But as we have discussed, busy moms don't always get to do the things we plan. As I mentioned, I made several resolutions this year and one was to start blogging again. It would have made sense to start in January, but better than never, right?

In addition to blogging, I resolved to read at least 4 books this year, to work out more and eat better, to run the Gate River Run and travel more and watch less TV. I think it's important to have goals to work towards in order to improve your health, wellness, and just improve your life overall. You'd be surprised how small changes make a big impact.

To kick off the new year, the kids and I had our own little NYE par-tay at the Bauer Haus! Complete with hats, horns, and sparkling water with stripey straws. Party over here!

Andy felt like such a grown up wearing a tie and drinking out of a real glass instead of a plastic cup. I tried not to let me anxiety show every time they wanted to "cheers"!

 Miss Amaya jumps at any chance to wear a dress AND a tiara with a cute slogan! 

 The countdown was my favorite. We watched the ball drop on DVR since they couldn't stay up late enough to watch it live. You wouldn't believe how excited they were. Jackson loves New York City and to see the ball and the crowds and confetti was a real treat.

Believe it or not, Jackson likes to get dressed up. He isn't always thrilled when I'm snapping pictures, but once he sees them, he says "Mommy, I'm so handsome!".

Sometimes, I get so bogged down with the daily routine of cooking, cleaning, laundry and helping with homework. It felt good to just let loose and have some fun with the kids and to relax for a while. They had fun, and admittedly, I did too. This is a fun thing to do for any holiday. The best time to buy holiday party supplies is right after the holiday passes. I don't think I paid more than $3.00 for all of our supplies. 

Quite frankly, it doesn't have to be a holiday or a special occasion to celebrate. Throw on some fancy clothes and have your own house party just for the fun of it!

Rock on, guys!

always,

astreia