I had forgotten how busy things get as we settle into the school year.  After school appointments and activities (we’re doing Cub Scouts this year and loving it), regular school events and PTA meetings, and general holiday season studio busy-ness hit all at once.  Right now the kids are doing homework and I have just finished cleaning up from dinner… and we’re still not done for the day.  I hope that we can keep up the “Monday with Mac and Cheese” posts though, because I know they’re something that the kids (and many of you) really look forward to.

October just may be our favorite month of the year.  We always try and do as much “fall” themed stuff as we can possibly fit in on my days off, which are few and far between since this is our busy time at the studio.  We do always manage to work in some fun family time, though, and this year we have a few trips planned out to Lost Maples and Guadalupe River State Park — if you have kids and you like doing outdoor activities as a family, GRSP has a lot of fun things on the calendar for the fall.  And every year, starting on October 1, the kids beg to watch their favorite fall movie: It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.  I love it too.  The music is fantastic and reminds me of being a kid, and every time we watch it together it takes me back to when I was their ages.  Of course, then, it only come on once a year.  Now, thanks to modern technology, we can watch it EVERY DAY.  Sometimes more than once.    It’s still good, every time.

Their song of the week pick goes with the Autumn theme, too.  For all of you who have the Noggin channel, you probably already know this.  If so, sing along (that means you, Laura V).  To me, I Don’t Like Candy Corn has become a modern-day sign that fall has arrived.  I love it and we sing it all the time.  And today we bought the first candy corn of the year.  I hate it, but my kids think it’s great.  I am happy to give them my share.

I have a few sessions to post but we have a busy BUSY week on the books at the studio.  Please remember that we are closed on Sunday and Monday, and that we work by appointment and do a lot of location work this time of year.  So, if you plan on dropping by the studio to pick something up, please give me a call in advance so I can make sure that someone is there for you.  I hope you all have a great week!

The kids and I had a very busy week and weekend… and one of those days today where we just didn’t get our whole “to do” list done.  I have been trying to get ready for all of our shooting and ordering sessions this week and the kids had their own projects going on around the house.  So, we didn’t have time to do our library run today, and the kids did not pick out a book for you.  But don’t worry: I took care of that. 

For all the moms out there who need more than one “what to read” suggestion a week, check out The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease.  This was one of my favorite books when I was still a librarian, because it gives you a great place to start when a parent comes in asking “where do I go from here?”  Trelease gives some really good information about the importance of reading aloud, but the real benefit here is the Treasury of Read-Alouds, which is organized by type of book and level.  You can buy your own copy at any bookstore or you can browse through it in your library’s reference section.

Their song of the day took a lot of discussion.  The wanted to share something “new and different” but as you may have already discovered, what is new and different to them is probably old to many of you.  For the past week they’ve been requesting anything and everything Fleetwood Mac, so their choice for today is Dreams.

I’ll be back in the studio tomorrow and will try and get all phone calls and emails from the weekend returned by the end of the day.  I will be with clients ALL DAY so if you call and don’t get a real person, please leave a voicemail and I’ll get back to you as soon as I get a free moment.  I hope you all have a great evening!  I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday morning with the rest of the “catch up” sneak previews.

I hope you all made it safely through the bad weather!  I hear that we did not have any here, but I know a lot of you have family and friends in the Houston area.  I spent the weekend driving… well, not the whole weekend, but it sure felt like it.  I had a great time with the Professional Photographers of Oklahoma, though!  When things are slower at the studio I really enjoy traveling, but when we’re busier (like right now) I know that I’m missing a lot of calls and emails!  I’ll get back to everyone who called or wrote tomorrow and Wednesday.

Right now, though, it’s time for This Week’s Picks by Mac and Cheese.  This week the kids have chosen our most recent “big chapter book” to share with you: Ramona and Her Mother, by Beverly Cleary.  I know that a lot of parents out there read this series when they were young, too, so many of you will be familiar with the irrepressible Ramona Quimby.  I love that we get a glimpse into the mind of a very smart seven-and-a-half year old, because not only can kids relate to her, but as adults it helps remind us that we once thought and felt many of the same things.

For their Music pick this week, they chose a song that I’ve been singing all day.  Tonight is the harvest moon, and it should be rising shortly.  I love this time of year and the temperature is almost fally, so it feels perfect for a full, orangey pumpkin moon.  Unfortunately, the sky is completely overcast so we will miss it!  So because of tonight’s “lunar event” I have had Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” stuck in my head all day, to the point that I think my kids know all the words now. 

Y’all have a great week!  We will be very busy and in and out of the studio, and I know many of you need to book appointments, so I will try and get back to you first thing tomorrow.  I am also getting a little behind in blogging featured sessions, so I will try and catch up on that this week.  Good night!

We’re finally getting some rain after a very dry summer. But it has been raining so steadily that when we went out earlier to get some groceries, all of the low areas were filling up with water. I remember that this same week last year we had a lot of rain and some flooding, too, because we had to reschedule some portrait sessions.

We decided to stay close to home for the rest of the day and so far, the kids have made a bedsheet tent, put on a dance show in the living room, and made me come up with an iMix of rainy day songs.   We are going to have to put off our weekly library visit because of the weather, but they still chose a book to share with you all.

I love the illustrations in The Dick and Jane Collection. Mac loves it because it’s easy to read — actually, it is how he learned to read. So now Charlotte is learning with it, too. It’s a classic. The stories are very simple and are not the best for parent-to-kid read-alouds, but they’re perfect for new readers.

This week they’ve chosen a video in addition to their music pick, because we have a new favorite in our house. Sesame Street: Old School is so much fun to watch. Parents will love seeing their old childhood favorites again, and the segments are timeless enough that today’s kids will learn and still be entertained. The biggest plus for me: no Elmo. Their pick in Music is also our favorite segment. I know that if you’re anywhere near my age, you probably won’t be able to resist singing along.  I’m listening to it while I type this and it takes me back to just before dinnertime during my elementary school years, before we had cable.

I’ll be back in the studio tomorrow to return all calls and emails.  Have a great Monday!

The kids are finally home from their vacation and it’s so nice to have them back in the house. It gets really quiet over here when they are gone, and somehow I end up watching more TV than usual. During our drive to the library this morning, I asked them what we should blog about today. They agreed to choose a book at the library, but when the conversation turned to music, the arguing began.

Mac: “We haven’t done George Strait. We need to do a song by George. This is Texas.”

Cheese: “Eh, he’s okay. How about Hannah Montana?”

Mac: [insert eye roll and disgusted sigh here] “First of all, Hannah Montana is really Miley Cyrus. And she’s okay, but how could you even put her in the same category as George Strait???”

Cheese: “You. Are. A. MUSIC SNOB.”

We shuffled through the iPod until we found something they could agree on. I had no idea they were taking their weekly blog entry so seriously. But we’ll get to that in a moment.

We’re on a cowboy kick lately, so the kids chose Cowboy Sam and Those Confounded Secrets by Kitty Griffin and Kathy Combs as their pick of the week in books. Cowboy Sam is the secret-keeper for the small Texas town of Dry Gulch. Everyone knows that if they tell Sam their secret, he’s sure to keep it under his hat. But one day that hat just has too many secrets to hold, and starts causing trouble. The townspeople help Sam find a new place to keep all those secrets, because “this town’s liable to go plum crazy without a secret-keeper.” It’s a fun book, and even more fun if you read it in your best slow Texas drawl. Mike Wohnoutka’s illustrations are great, too.

They DID finally find a good compromise for the music pick of the week.  According to the kids, this song is not only good, but it’s perfect for the blog “because it’s kind of kiddish and you’re a kid photographer.”  So their music pick of the week is “Return to Pooh Corner” by Kenny Loggins. Don’t ask how we got there from George Strait and Hannah Montana because you’d have to see our iPod playlist to understand.

I will be back in the studio tomorrow to answer calls and emails, and I have several portrait sessions to share with you all this week. See you soon!

Just a quick post for today. I have a very, very full schedule this week so when I get back into the studio tomorrow, it might be afternoon before I get a chance to return phone calls. If you are a high school senior and you would like to book a session, please call me to get on the schedule asap! Once school starts it will take longer to get an appointment.

This week’s pick for books is The Buffalo Storm by Katherine Applegate. When Hallie’s family moves out west, leaving her beloved grandmother back home, she finds comfort in her grandmother’s words, and in her going away gift. It’s a beautiful story, made even more lovely by Jan Ormerod’s richly textured illustrations. My kids loved it enough to ask me to read it twice.

In music, we have McCurdy’s current favorite song. We have Chris Rice’s Lemonade on my iPod and it’s one of his top requests — we turn the volume WAY up and he sings along. It is amazing to me how quickly the kids learn every single word to their favorites. It’s one of those songs that you can’t sing without smiling. I don’t like the live YouTube version as much, but it’s what we’ve got for today. Also check out When Did You Fall on the same album.