Photo A Day Fail

Ok, so it's hard enough to do EVERYTHING ELSE that needs done in a days time and I really don't leave my house everyday, so the whole "photo a day" thing doesn't really work for me.  I pretty much do take at least a few photos a day, but they are all mainly of Annaliese and I post them on Instagram.  


So I gave up on the challenge, but if you'd still like to see my daily photos, follow me on Instagram @callmecassie.


Have a great day folks! :)

March Photo A Day- Complete

Ok everyone!  I FINALLY finished my first whole month of the Photo A Day Challenge by @FatMumSlim.  I had a little hang up because my old phone's camera lens cracked and my pictures were coming out warped!  I love imperfect pictures, but I was not havin' that!  So here are my March "Photo A Day" picture collages.  Enjoy!

1)  Gas prices are always on the rise. *sigh*  Since this was taken 31 days ago, prices have gone up to $3.99 a gallon for regular!  Highway robbery! 
2)  Cantaloupe is one of my favorite fruits! 
3)  We live on a pretty busy street but I happened to capture a peaceful moment on the road.

 


4)  The necessities.  Baby monitor, touch lamp, and lotion for my extremely dry hands this season. 
5)  My little cutie always smiling away! 
6)  In the fifth hour making my mom's famous Chicken Squares.  (I'll post the recipe another day) 
7)  I always wear my wedding rings.  ...except when I do the dishes or give Annaliese a bath, then sometimes I forget to put them back on.  Oops!

 


8)  This is the window in the kitchen.  I love watching the squirrels, birds, bunnies, chipmunks and sometimes even raccoons stop by and play.  Makes doing the dishes a lot less painful 
9)  I have yet to purchase a pair of red pumps, but mark my words "I will." 
10)  ...But until then I have these fabulous and loud silver glitter pumps that I'll be wearing for my best friend, Jessie's bachelorette party in 2 weeks! 
11)  I talk to both of my favorite people in the world, everyday.  *swoon*

 


12)  One of our forks edited with 2 apps.  First one used is called ToonCamera.  The second, WordFoto. 
13)  One of my favorite signs in the world.  The universal sign language for "I love you".  Thank you to my hand model, aka my husband.  I love you, baby! 14)  I was at a red light and looked over and saw these clouds.  They were like mile long grey stripes in the sky.  It was awesome!

 


15)  This is my best friend Takia's car.  It's name is Sunny Jo.  She names all her cars :) 
16)  A case of sunglasses at a store called Body Central.  Loved this store!

 


17)  My new Hoops & Yoyo cup that Jessie got me for my birthday!  It talks and I love it!  Hoops and Yoyo go way back for my group of friends. :) 
18)  This is my favorite place in my house (besides my bed where I dream of sleeping).  This is where Anna's bedtime story takes place and where we feed her and rock her to sleep.  This is usually the place where I reflect on my life and everything I am grateful for. 
19)  We had just gotten back from an evening family walk and Anna was very talkative.  So I perched her on the armrest of the couch and her and daddy just talked away.  It was so cute and funny!

 


 20)  Before Annaliese my monthly subscription showed up in my mailbox I read all of the celebrity gossip in People magazine.  After Annaliese my monthly subscription is Parents magazine.  Got to read up on what others have gone through being a parent and how that may or may not affect my parenting with my kids.

 


21)  Inspired by the great Rachel Ray, I decided to try her recipe for rosemary chicken and garlic potatoes.  This dinner was very easy to make and it was delicious! 
22)  Here is our kitchen sink.  Usually always full of dishes and bottles, but for your viewing pleasure, I at least did the dishes first. 
23)  This is a picture frame that we got as a baby shower gift (and have yet to use it, so in case you're wondering...that's not my kid).  It has the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle" on it.  Very cute! 
24)  This is our 19.5lb cat, Sammie Samurai.  He seems a little intimidating but he is really lovable and really good with the baby.

 


25)  Strawberries n cream oatmeal.  I love oatmeal and pretty much eat it for breakfast 8 days a week. 
26)  My house is a music lovers house and this is a shot of our baby grand piano.  I can't play anything but "Mary Had a Little Lamb", but hey!  It's a start!


   




27)  My name is Cassandra, but you can call me Cassie.  This is a mug that a good friend got me for Christmas one year.  I'd say it's pretty accurate.

 


28)  Yep, here's our trash.  Not a pleasant thing to take a spectacular picture of.  Moving on... 
29)  My daughter is obsessed with her feet!  If she's laying on her back at any moment, she will soon have her feet in her hands and making way to her mouth.  I think it's adorable, but someone who is grossed out by feet (yes even baby feet) may not feel the same.

 


30)  Justin and I used to play games all the time and realized that since with a baby we haven't had much time to do so, we made time and went out and bought a new game to play.  Had a blast playing this! 
31)  If I'm not trying to fall asleep in bed, I'm reclined on our oh-so-comfortable couch, usually with a sleeping baby on my chest.  Yes, very relaxing. 


Well there you have it!  A daily photo for a whole month.  And now that I have my iphone , I'll be keeping up better with the photo a day via Instagram @callmecassie and Twitter @Call_Me_Cassie.  Until next month... Make memories!

March Photo A Day

As you all know, a new month of March has begun!  That is unless you're still in hibernation from February.  I love March because it's the month that Spring begins and more importantly one more month until my birthday. Ha! Lately on Facebook and Twitter I am seeing more and more people participate in the Photo A Day Challenge by #FatMumSlim, even some celebrities.  It's fun and I enjoy it!  I began the Photo A Day Challenge in February on my other blog (http://fotofriendlyfamily.blogspot.com) but quickly realized that doing one post a day for a picture was not only time consuming in addition to trying to blog, but it also made the posts hard to find.  I blogged about half of February and just posted the rest on twitter.  I have decided to pretty much not be original and copy my buddy Lyndsey's way of doing things and will split the pictures up in halves by month.  So as I'm taking daily pictures and doing this challenge, stay tuned around the middle and end of the month to see what I have captured.  I would also suggest taking part in the challenge if you have a camera because it is a lot of fun! 


Do you like to explore the photographer in you?  What do you like to take pictures of?  Would you join me and millions of others and participate in the Photo A Day Challenge?




TTFN-Ta Ta For Now!

Dedicated to All of You Proud Parents

I found this poem awhile ago and I love it, so I thought I'd share.





If you’ve ever:


…gotten a lump in your throat while you heard the heartbeat of your baby;


…unwrapped your newly swaddled baby, completely out of curiosity;


…held the feet of an infant to your lips;


…gotten tears on your baby’s head in the middle of the night while feeding him or her;


…been so tired you handed your spouse a sippy cup instead of a beer;


…researched the cure for croup, at 3 a.m.;


…picked a tiny nose with your pinky finger;


…stumbled over your words, as you explained something so very big to someone so very small;


…wished with all your might for moments forever lost in time;


…surprisingly realized there were tears on your cheeks;


…paced the halls of your home, mentally willing a fever to break;


…wondered how it was possible for a little person to eat so much;


…wondered how it was possible for a little person to eat so little;


…discussed growth spurts, cradle cap, and the colour, consistency and smell of poop;


…were surprised at how long his little legs were getting as you re-tucked him in, before retiring for the night;


…felt warm vomit down your back as you try to calm your frightened child;


…laid awake and wondered if you could have done something better;


…heard 18 excuses why he doesn’t want to go to bed;


…bought those new shoes despite the fact you’ve had yours for 3 years running;


…baked 32 cupcakes at 10:30 at night;(after doing a milk run in your pajamas);


…filled out a field trip form, only to worry about all the things that could go wrong;


…volunteered for that field trip to put your own mind at ease;


…stayed by the window after allowing her to bike to the variety store;


…talked candidly about sex and drugs, all the while nursing knots in your tummy;


…felt your heart soar along with his when he saved the game;


…been mad at someone else’s kid for hurting your kid’s feelings;


…taught them how to cook a meal/do a load of laundry/long division/anything, and somehow not ripped your hair out;


…been more excited than ever for Christmas morning, just to see their faces;


…spoiled them rotten when you got a few extra bucks;


…made her favorite meal, just because;


… tussled his hair, and pulled him back for a kiss and a hug when he squirmed away;


…laid awake at night and willed time to slow down;


…thought you’d never, ever feel love like this – so raw and powerful – leaving you so very vulnerable…


…then you’re doing it right.

Remembering the Positives

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

You all know what it's like to reminisce about the good times and the bad times, right?  It's usually easier to recognize the bad times that stand out in your head rather than the good.  Sometimes people can have a healthy balance of both.  One year ago today is a day that I can specifically remember as a 'positive' day...literally.

You've read in my previous posts this week about how Justin and I met and how we got engaged.  Justin and I have always been very open and honest with each other about everything and I love that we have that connection.  We both love to talk and can carry on a conversation for hours and hours.  It's certainly one of my favorite pastimes.  With that being said, after we met we of course wanted to know everything about each other and one of the topics that was particularly important to the both of us was family goals and values.  We have always wanted children and wanted to wait until we met that special person who we could see spending forever with.  Well after we met and dated for almost a year, we both couldn't imagine our lives without each other and knew that this was forever.  Someday when he was able to, Justin would buy a ring and propose to make it official.  Well because those feelings of certainty were shining in our love struck eyes, we decided to fully let God be the judge of whether we were ready to be parents or not.  Justin and I had pretty much decided that we were not going to prevent pregnancy and after we got married we would TRY to conceive.  We bought the book What To Expect Before You're Expecting and 5 months after we were married our lives came to a sudden change.

It was an early Wednesday morning and my "friend" was 2 days late.  We had some pregnancy tests on hand and we decided that because I was 2 days late, I might as well take a pregnancy test.  Justin was getting ready for work.  I took the test and within seconds the "+" started to appear.  My heart started racing, my mind started racing and I couldn't get to Justin who was in the room next to me quick enough!  I sat the test on the counter and met Justin in the hallway and said "Uuuuumm....honey?  You might want to see this."  He met me in the bathroom and looked at the counter with me and got a huge smile on his face!  I said, " Well it looks like we're pregnant, but it might be a false test.  I'll take another one tomorrow to see if we get the same results." However, part of us knew that we were in fact pregnant.  That whole morning while Justin was continuing to get ready for work, we met again in the kitchen and just smiled at each other.  Thousands of questions rushed through my head.  What if this test is right?  What if today is the day that we became aware that we are actually expecting a baby?  Should I start eating better and stay away from junk food all together?  Should I start religiously taking my prenatal vitamins?  Would that glass of wine that I had for Valentine's Day dinner affect the baby in any way?  There was no way that Justin was going to be able to concentrate at work.  And there was no way that I wasn't going to be Googling my head off at home.  

So he went to work and didn't concentrate while I was home Googling.  The next day, I took another test and another "+" came up.  I was still in disbelief, so I took 2 more tests and 2 more "+"s appeared.  I guess it was true! 

After obvious disbelief...

And one more just to quadruple check...

 Yep!  We were PREGNANT!

We were very blessed and fortunate to be able to conceive at all and so quickly.  I was going to be a mommy!  My husband was going to be a daddy!  The biggest and most important role you will ever have in your life...a parent. 

Wow.  For days we waited to tell the family because we wanted to get confirmation from the doctor first.  And as soon as we did, we made up plaques for each of our brothers and our parents and gave them as gifts.  First was Justin's parents, brother and his wife.  Then was my mom and brother.  For my dad and step mom who live in New Jersey, we emailed theirs to them and called them to hear their reaction just as they read it.

We later told our close friends and then after we were out of the first trimester, we told the rest of the world!  Waiting to tell everyone was SO HARD because we were so excited, but we didn't want to tell everyone so early just in case we had difficulties.  I'll never forget those wonderful positive moments filled with so much love and joy from our family and friends.  Thank you to all of you who were there for Justin and I to share in our love and excitement.  It means more to us than you'll ever know.

Day 14- Heart

Today's photo of the day topic is: Heart.  This is my heart wearing hearts.  She wore a nice little ensemble today for Valentine's Day.  Black leggings, a"Little Lady" t-shirt with a lady bug on it, red skirt with black hearts with a matching cardigan.  We had so much fun today working on daddy's Valentine's Day project.  After days of preparation and working with Anna to capture pictures, it turned out pretty well and daddy loved it!  Not too bad for my first craft project in years.  

Here's the original that I got the idea from.

Source: theletter4.blogspot.com via Cassandra on Pinterest

Day 13- Blue

Today's photo of the day topic is: Blue.  This is Annaliese (of course, I mean did you expect any different?) sitting in her blue Bumbo seat.  These are pretty cool cause they help babies sit up at a young age and use their stomach muscles to gain strength to sit up on their own and it's working!  Anna can sit up by herself for 10 seconds before leaning and falling over now!  She's getting so big!  Just look at those feet!  Love them!

Day 12- Inside Your Closet

Today's photo of the day topic is: Inside Your Closet.  Odd request, but there you have it.  My sweaters.  Stay warm!

Day 11- Makes You Happy

Today's photo of the day topic is: Makes You Happy.  This is my new Vera Bradley diaper bag that my wonderful husband gave me for Valentine's Day this year...along with a matching wallet and eye glass case.  I LOVE them all and they definitely make me happy!  :)  hehe!

Day 10- Self Portrait

Today's photo of the day topic is: Self Portrait.  Since my beautiful daughter was born, I rarely take pictures of myself anymore.  Seeing as though today's topic is a picture of me, I thought it should have my sidekick in it too!  We we're playing on the floor so I thought it was a great time to turn the camera around and snap!  Look at that pretty baby with blue eyes!  My eyes are more greenish hazel and daddy's eyes are more brownish hazel.  They say 1 of 4 babies will have a different eye color than their parents.  Maybe she's that special one!  But we'll have to wait and see.  Their eye color isn't determined until at least 12 months, so it still may change.  We hope it stays :)

Day 9- Front Door

Today's photo of the day topic is: Front Door.  Sure, why not?!  Well, not much to say about this one...pretty self explanatory.  Here's our front door of the house that we currently rent.  She's a beauty, huh?  But hey all jokes aside, I'm thankful we have a house and a house with a front door...that locks.

Day 8- Sun

Today's photo of the day topic is: Sun.  And since I live in Pennsylvania and it's a cloudy/rainy/snowy/cold February day, there was no sun to be found.  So I had to improvise.  I used a picture from our honeymoon to Negril, Jamaica.  August 2010 on a Caribbean island...man I wish I felt that nice weather right now!  Hot is my kind of weather!  Oh yes, I remember this sunset.  We were on our way back from living out one of my life long dreams of swimming with dolphins!  (See one of the biggest grins I have ever been capable of producing below)  

Anyway, the sunsets on this island were breath-taking each and every night.  Just happened to catch this one in motion with the reflection on the street.  

Day 7- Button

Today's photo of the day topic is: Button.  I chose to take a picture of our tv remote control.  I know it sounds like a silly idea but the reason I chose this is because my father-in-law always used to call the tv remote "buttons" and I always got a kick out if it!  "Where's the buttons?"  Gotta love that southern slang!  :)  

Day 6- Dinner (and recipe)

Today's photo of the day topic is: Dinner.  This is a picture of a picture of a Three-Bean Turkey Chili that I usually make. It would've been a picture of the actual bowl of chili I ate, but I forgot to take the picture before I ate it all.  Oops!  I made this chili for everyone to enjoy yesterday for Superbowl Sunday and I have to say it was a hit!  Here is a picture of the recipe I used to make it.

Go ahead and try it!  You won't regret it!  :)  

Day 5- 10am

Today's photo of the day topic is: 10am.  I couldn't think of anything more clever than to take a picture of my iPod that I use daily.  This is 10am on 2/5/12, Superbowl Sunday; in which the NY Giants won!  My dad was happy!


On another note, Annaliese was dressed for her first Superbowl occasion in her new NY Jets sleeper that Papou and Nana brought for her.  She matched her daddy!

Watching the game very closely.

Smiling for the camera!

Congratulations to the Giants for their big win!  We look forward to football season to begin again in September! :)

Day 4- Stranger

Today's photo of the day topic is: Stranger.  It's cold here in Pennsylvania this time of year, but lately it's been abnormally warm for a few days.  Well today was back to being about 35 degrees, as it really should be.  It is February after all.  I went grocery shopping for Superbowl Sunday at our local grocery store and as I was sitting at a red light heading home, I saw some kids standing outside with posters and coffee cans.  I read the poster that said "Help Kids Fight Cancer" and I waved this guy over to me to give a donation and when he returned to his area, I snapped a picture.  I give these kids a lot of credit for standing outside in the freezing cold to help raise money for kids with cancer.  Thank You, stranger. 

Day 3- Hands

Today's photo of the day topic is: Hands.  I love that each and every time I feed Annaliese she holds my finger while she's eating.  Half of the time she then usually falls asleep while holding my finger.  I just love her little chubby hands.  I chose to use this picture because I've never seen such beautiful hands before, nor have I really ever been able to find such beauty in a simple pair of hands. 

Day 2- Words

Today's photo of the day's topic is: Words.  I chose to take a picture of a save the date magnet that we received in the mail today for our friends Fawn and Joe's wedding this summer.  The picture of their hands holding little scrabble tiles spelling out their wedding date is an adorable and creative idea.  I love weddings, not only for the meaning behind the day; two souls joining as one.  It's really a beautiful thing.  I also really enjoy the creativity and imagination that goes along with planning the details of the day.  Yay for weddings!