Hello......is anybody there?

I'm fairly sure that the few friends who had been stopping by here have probably given up looking since I started back to school and have become sloppy with my posting. But I shall plod on in the vain hope that someone is there. My mother better be since it was she who commented that there weren't enough photos of the boys anymore! I'll be expecting a nice comment from her tomorrow ha ha! I better not make too big a deal about her though or she'll start charging more than grandson kisses for the childcare she provides!

So anyway, how are you all? Things have been pretty hectic around here. I'm trying to balance the photography with school and looking after the boys, and so for 3 days I'm teacher mummy and then for the next 4 I'm fun photography mummy. It's working out ok - I think! Lots of positive comments about my photographs and a few lovely orders too. So I've taken the brave step of having some flyers produced to deliver around some of the young family areas of Bangor. Do give me a shout if you're interested or if you can pass some of these on to your lovely friends and families!

And I am still promising myself some scrapping time sometime soon, but my friends keep having babies that I'm dying to take pictures of as well! Maybe at the weekend if I'm lucky!

So until then, I'll leave you with a few photos of the boys (especially for Sandi!) Practising with my new 50mm 1.8 lens.

Here we have the 'I'm so cute' poses from the beautiful Conor.

Followed by the 'I'm the spitting image of my dad' pose!

The ever fabulous 'fake laugh' pose from Patrick (I was lucky to get anything at all!)

And my favourite shot of them for ages - the 'genuinely happy to be brothers' pose!

And this is how I imagine they will remember me in years to come - crazy photographer lady with camera attached to her face!

We can't wait to see you!

Blaaaaaghhh!!

This is how I feel. Not because I am unwell. Nor indeed because of the 4.45am start Conor has favoured the past few mornings. I think it's because I don't like the teacher version of me! She's really not a lot of fun to be around. In fact, today she made two different classes go back outside her classroom and practise coming back in properly! She's a right old targe! I hate this swapping in and out of roles when I'm at work, teacher Janine one minute and then mummy Janine and occasionally just Janine. Sorry for droning on about this. I promise I shall be cheerier for my next post.

On a totally different note and not at all blaaaaghhhh, Patrick started nursery school last Thursday and he seems to be loving it so far. He's only been going for an hour a day but he doesn't mind being left and really seems to look forward to it each morning. Long may it continue:) He is so ready for this, for mixing with other kids and trying new things. Just venturing out of his comfort zone for a bit. And I haven't cried once (although just today I was lamenting the fact that he's not even a toddler anymore, and I honestly can't remember his baby days very clearly at all. Next thing he'll be coming home engaged and I'll have to find a hat to fit my tiny pea head!)

I'm leaving you with just one picture from a session I did on Saturday for an old colleague's son's first birthday party. Check out how huge his eyes are! His mum needs to start worrying now!!

Real life takes over

It's a real disappointment when the bubble of your fantasy life is mercilessly shattered by the sharp edges of your real life, which is exactly what happened this week. School started on Tuesday and I really wasn't that excited to be back. All summer I've been pretending I'm a photographer, and then I realised that I'm really a teacher! Boooooo!!! Anyway, it's made me all the more determined to do something about it, so here's one of my favourite shots of my last few shoots. She is the daughter of my friend Nadia and is so gorgeous. Wasn't a bit interested in having her picture taken, just wanted to colour in and play with her doll!

Cannot wait to photograph their new baby when he/she makes an appearance in a few weeks! There are more from this shoot in the galleries at the side if you fancy a peek.

Oh go on then, I'll post one more!

And obviously since reality has hit me I've fallen way behind on the scrapbook challenges, but I will get to them. I'm promising myself!

That's me!

On the contents page of The Scrapbook Magazine issue 18! And my layout made the cover:) I admit I'm slightly giddy!!

Apologies to those of you for whom this means absolutely nothing, and also to those who have done that and bought the t-shirt, but jump in and be giddy with me anyway!

A few thoughts

I've been thinking a lot lately about how difficult being a parent can be a lot of the time. Nothing new in this thought, but sometimes I look at Patrick and Conor and wonder how two such gorgeous, perfect children can make me so angry or reduce me to tears just as easily as they can make me smile. I often feel riddled with guilt because I've shouted at Patrick again, or because I have a million different reasons why I can't come down on the floor and play airports right at that moment, or because I've had to leave Conor to cry again while I deal with whatever crisis Patrick is having. So I thought I'd put it on a scrapbook page. I mean, why should they grow up thinking that this was all a barrel of laughs?! And if nothing else, any future wife they may acquire will not need to ask the same question because it's all laid out in front of her!

This is my layout for challenges 4 and 5. I'm clearly cheating by combining two challenges, but I doubt Annie will kick me out! I'm really pleased with how this turned out - I love this picture of the two of them and it totally contrasts with much of the journalling. (I'm not typing it out for you - if you're that interested you'll have to just crane your neck!) Not all negative though. I did finish off with all the great things about being their mum - promise!!

It really is the small things..

that put a smile on your face. I know Jo will appreciate this better than anyone, but check out my funky new napkin holder. It does have very cute pics of the boys in it (I assure you Conor is on the other side!), but more importantly, are you checking out my Cath Kidston napkins?

Ha ha!! I got this on our windswept day on the coast and it makes me smile everytime I look at it. Obviously the napkins are not for actual use, except by those who truly appreciate their simple beauty!

And just a few more photos for the grandparents :)

Beautiful

How gorgeous is this family? I took photos of their 10 day old daughter on Sunday, but this is the shot that my eye keeps going back to. I wish I had photos like this of us!

Proof...

that we actually did brave the North Coast in the blustery, cloudy weather that seems to be summer! That's right, folks, we went to Barry's, where Patrick showed sypmtoms of early addiction to the 10p falls, and where the most exciting ride we could entice him onto was this fire engine!

I think this photo is also the only evidence that we took Conor with us and didn't just leave him to fend for himself at home! Poor wee man. He pretty much slept most of the day - not impressed with his first outing to Portrush.

And proof that we are in fact insane! Drivning onto Portstewart Strand, building sandcastles and paddling in the Atlantic! How could we not take Patrick to the beach?! It was the highlight of his day, and I must say, once your feet went numb, the sea wasn't too bad at all!!

I hope this is enough of a fix for a day or two, Nanny & Grandpa :)

Finally

I thought I was never going to get this 3rd challenge done! I had ideas lurking around in my head for a couple of days before I could summon the motivation to try them out. So this is it - my attempt at using my own background design. The paisley paper started life out as a shirt my mum brought back from holiday for me last year. I just scanned it and then had a lot of fun playing with the hue/saturation layers in Photoshop. I think I may have solved all my future problems of not having the right paper in the right colour! But I also think that Michael is only disappointed that I now have another reason to fiddle on the computer for hours on end!

I may have got a little carried away with the travel stickers and rub ons, but hey, we don't get to travel much and a girl has a stash to use up if she wants to buy anything new!

On a totally different subject, we had a 3rd family outing today, to the North coast. Sun, sea and sand was what we were promised. Cloud, drizzle and sand was what we got. With a lot of stuffing our faces at Morelli's and various other establishments. And the odd tantrum/crying for no apparent reason thrown in for good measure. There are photos of the whole escapade which I shall post tomorrow for the benefit of my parentals who have gone on holiday for a week and are afraid of getting withdrawal symptoms from not seeing the boys!