I am 12 weeks along now and am SUPER tired, have to eat ALL the friggin’ time and have night sickness instead of morning sickness. I don’t want to complain though. We feel very blessed to even be pregnant. My due date is October 12th 2011 so that means I will have to do all my Fall sessions EARLY! If you are planning on doing a session with me, book it ASAP because I will have to be finished for the year by September.

I got to hear the heartbeat today. My 4 year old came with me and was mesmerized by that sound. Here’s a pic of the little bean:

One of the highlights of the trip was the PJ Part-ay we had late one evening with a bunch o’ girls.  Leah Remillet, of Go4Prophotos, and I were getting a little silly, to say the least.  You would never know that was the first time we’d met in person!

I also learned a TON of things that will benefit my photography business and my life. It was good to take some time and evaluate what my strengths are (and what they aren’t!) and why I do what I do. I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching and one of my new goals is to blog more and share more about my cute kids and life as a Mama.  So be on the lookout for more blog love!

Thank heavens I’m heading to Vegas this weekend for WPPI (a photography convention)!  Maybe I’ll get to see the eiffel tower…Vegas version.

]]> http://francephotography.com/blog/i-heart-new-orleans/feed/ 2 http://francephotography.com/blog/if-i-had-only-10-years-to-live/ http://francephotography.com/blog/if-i-had-only-10-years-to-live/#comments Tue, 18 Jan 2011 02:52:46 +0000 admin http://francephotography.com/blog/?p=2029 Remember how I said that sharing your goals helps you to accomplish them. So here I am sharing some of my 2011 goals with you. I also shared them with my husband so that we are both on the same page.

In making goals, they should be S.M.A.R.T:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Timely

All too often we make goals like “Lose 10 lbs.” but then we never specify exactly HOW we will do this.  So this year, I tried to be really specific with my goals and HOW I would achieve them.  I also decided to make my goals with a new perspective in mind.

If I only had 5-10 years to live, what would I do more?

I decided that if I really only had 5-10 years left to live, I would spend way more time with my kids by:

• STOP, LOOK & LISTEN (especially after school!)
• Take them on one-on-one dates ( go to lunch every month on the date of their birthday)
• Read to them more often
• Make memories (traditions, vacations, holidays)
• Teach them every skill I know!
• Ensure that each kid had positive interaction from me
• Write in my Journal and express my love for them
• Hug them and tell them I love them everyday
• SLOW DOWN, be patient & not yell
• Take them on more vacations where we can stop & smell the roses & just enjoy each other
• Stop getting caught up in the thick of thin things
• Make dinner more enjoyable
• Take & print more pictures of MY kids
• BE AN EXAMPLE (Do as I do!)
• Teach them to be healthy
• Take better care of myself so I can take better care of my kids
• Blog more about my kids & motherhood (√ check!)
• Teach my children important principles!

Another thing that has helped me to really narrow down my motherhood goals is to decide what principles I want to teach my children this year.  Every week we have Family Home Evening (FHE) where we literally sit down and teach our children principles that are important to us. So this year, I decided beforehand on all of the principles that I want my children to learn more about and exemplify.

They are: (I made a little printout for the kids so they could see)

I also sat down with each child and reviewed their goals from last year. Then we decided on some goals for each of them this year. Here they are:

DAUGHTER’S GOALS:

Learn to brush hair by Feb. 10^th

Learn to do half & full pony tail

Use a calm voice

Practice piano

Learn to clean room herself

Keep room clean

Do morning routine herself

Learn to cook by helping Mom on Sundays

Use hook in closet

Learn to ride a bike

Join swim team

Have a savings account

SON’S GOALS:

Clean up after self

Learn to make phone calls

Learn to ride a bike

Play T-ball & soccer

Stop interrupting

Get baptized

Fast for 1 meal a month

Sing Hymns at Church

YOUNGEST CHILD’S GOALS:

Stay in bed at night

Learn to make bed

Learn to make a sandwich

Do chores

Stop hitting Mom/Dad

Stop calling names

Stop yelling

ALL KIDS GOALS:

Stop saying potty words (tobasco or toilet)

Learn about principles

Make own breakfast

Floss

Read scriptures during lamptime

Rinse plates

Learn to use napkins

Make beds

Close eyes & fold arms during prayers

Sing Hymns at Church

Be more helpful

FAMILY GOALS:

Eat Clean

Take Daisy on more walks

Go camping

Obviously, we have a LOT to work on…not to mention my own personal goals that I’ll talk more about tomorrow.  Maybe that was all TMI but it feels good to write them down and share them!  A goal is a wish unless it’s written down!

What would you do differently if you only had 5-10 years to live?  THINK ABOUT IT.

]]> http://francephotography.com/blog/if-i-had-only-10-years-to-live/feed/ 2 http://francephotography.com/blog/goals-giveaway/ http://francephotography.com/blog/goals-giveaway/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2011 06:18:02 +0000 admin http://francephotography.com/blog/?p=2012 I have a TON of goals this year for myself, my kids, France Photography & Francypants Academy.  It’s a little overwhelming to try to nail them all down.  I think one of the best ways to define your goals is to write them down AND share them with others so that you have personal cheerleaders.  I’ll be sharing some of my goals with you in the next post but for those of you who are in the process of deciding on your New Year’s goals, let me offer a recommendation to help you.  I LOVE these “Life is Messy” Goal Planning sheets from the Heartmade Blog!  I’ve already implemented the Monthly Blog planner which is why this post is even happening.  Here’s a peek at what I’m referring to:

The lovely Mayi Carles has agreed to give-away one Life is Messy Planner to a lucky blog reader.

All you have to do is make a comment listing one goal for 2011 and then I’ll choose a name at random.

Goal comments must be submitted by midnight on January 17th. I’ll announce the winner on January 18th.

If you just can’t wait, you can purchase your own Life is Messy Planners for only $20 by clicking the button below:

While she was here, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, went swimming, cooked for each other, had pinching wars, watched a couple movies together, taught each other Photoshop tricks, played games with my boys, and just had a grand ole’ time.  Sure love her.