new year. new goals. new me.

How did New Year Resolutions get such a bad rep? Isn’t it a time for us to start over with fresh intentions? Forget the past and move on? Out with the old, in with the new? 

I personally look at it as striving for a change and creating new habits. I like examining my past year’s behaviors (and misbehaviors) and making a list of things I’d like to fix and setting goals – ooooooh, I loooooove goals. Setting goals increases productivity and the success rate by 80%! I’m pretty sure I just made that up, but I know goal setting is important – as long as it’s realistic and specific.

Like most women, one of my New Year Resolutions (known as NYR now, because it’s a pain to type) is to lose weight. Wooomp woomp womp.

A key to setting goals is to be as specific, whether it’s a setting a ideal weight or size, or saying many days you’re dedicating working out in the gym a week. The other key is making sure it’s realistic and attainable. Sure, I’d LOVE to lose 30 pounds before my birthday in February, but seriously. Even though my goal is specific – I stated the amount I’d like to lose and gave me a deadline, but I’m not exactly on the Biggest Loser Ranch where I can work out for hours a day and eat perfectly clean, so I’m pretty sure that my body can’t lose the required 6 pounds per week to meet my goal. I’d basically be setting myself up for disappointment, which yeah, could put a bad taste in my mouth regarding the whole NYR planning thing.

Last year, my boyfriend and I set a goal that we’d lose 20 lbs. by the time we leave for our normal Fourth of July trip to the beach. I wasn’t in the gym every day like I was hoping I’d be, and I occasionally enjoyed an item from the McDonalds menu here and there, but I framed my mind into thinking these were just speed bumps, not reasons to give up hope and quit. As the pounds came off, my confidence went up, and it transformed itself from a NYR to just a normal habit. Going on a run was as automatic as brushing my teeth. When I hit the 20 lbs. mark in June, I wanted to keep going. Since I met my goal, I set a new one, I wanted to start wearing a size 8. I ended up losing 38 lbs. and wearing a size 10 by mid August. Unfortunately, I didn’t plan for any other setbacks and transition myself into “maintenance mode”. I gained some back, and yeah I’m disappointed, but now I know what I need to do for 2011. I have a fresh start and a new mindset and don’t consider myself a failure because I hit a road block. The typical person only sticks to the NYR until mid February. If it happens to you, shrug it off and start again in a couple months and be satisfied that the first 1.5 months of attempted change with pure intentions is better than no attempt at all.

So alas, here are my personal NYR for 2011 (and hopefully the rest of my life):

1. Déjà vu – I’m going to lose 20 lbs. by July because I know I can do it. And then I’m going to get into those freakin size 8 jeans by the end of 2011, all the while burning all of my fat jeans that I keep coming back to.

2. New motto: Quality, not Quantity – I used to measure my worth based on how many people I surrounded myself with – yeah, I thought I was a big deal because I had over 1,300 friends on Facebook. Now I’ve realized it doesn’t matter how many friendships you have, but the actual connection and effort your are giving to and receiving from this person.

3. Project 365 – I’m going to take one picture a day for the next year. Armed with my backup Canon DSLR that I’m going to attempt to start carrying with me everywhere and my iPhone 4 which is basically an appendage, I should have no problem doing this.

4. Frugalness – I need to be smarter with my money and live as if plastic wasn’t invented. Save, Save, Save!

5. Stop the Profanity – I cuss like a sailor. Hell, my thoughts are usually profanity.

6. Read the Bible – I received my very own Bible from my parents for Christmas this year and I tend to read it!

7. Anger Control – ie, road rage, attitude, confrontation, rudeness, yelling, etc. Be gone with it you all!


I have some photography-related NYR as well:

8. Blog once every two weeks.

9. I’m getting busier, but I still have some down time between shoots. Even if it’s shooting Toby or nature, I just need to practice more.

10. Take at least one photography related class a month – I have a mentoring session in NC coming up in January, a Photoshop class in February, and a workshop in Atlanta in March – the only way I’m going to get better is to keep being a student and learn.

11. I finally got to the point where I’m happy and confident with my lens inventory, but I’m still just using the 3 I’m most comfortable with. I need to get out of my comfort zone and use the others!

12. Be more organized with contracts and paperwork.

13. Book at least 1-2 weddings each month starting in April.  

14. Here’s an article about NYR for photographers: http://www.macworld.com/article/156640/2010/12/photoresolutions.html. I do most of these, but I need to do the others!

 

So, what are your New Year Resolutions?

I wish you and your loved ones a very happy, healthy and goal-oriented New Year! :)

stay calm & snap on.

I've heard and read over and over again that a photographer should shoot everyday in order to get better at their craft and learn more about themselves. As a part-time photographer, I can't do that... that's why I'm part-time. I have a full-time job in the corporate world, a social life, and a Tobyshark among other things, so it's impossible to put away some time during the day to shoot for me... or so I thought...

This is a Tobyshark.

I ran across this website called Big Picture Classes while following a fun, feminine photography blog, The Shutter Sisters. They were offering a 31 day, online class called Picture the Holidays. For $30, I would receive 1 email every day in December challenging me to stop in the midst of my hectic life, reflect on the holiday season, and capture the provided theme through the lens of my camera all the while giving me helpful tips for photography in general. I didn't jump on it right away. I kept coming up with reasons why I thought I shouldn't or couldn't take this class: shooting every day, $30 to reflect on the holidays - am I actually going to learn something or get something out of it? As I weighed the pros and cons carefully, I reflected back on the pictures I took in the Sonoma Valley, Alcatraz Island, and San Francisco, and how much fun I had taking them. There was no pressure to impress a client or to get shots that would build my portfolio - these were for me to remember this vacation. After I returned from my trip with great images, I felt renewed. The rut I was in had faded and I was ready to get back to work. Shooting for fun should be a constant in my life since it's the reason I decided to make this a potential career anyways.

So. I signed up for the class.  I can make the time. It'll take some effort on my part - making myself get up a littler earlier in the morning so I have time to sit down at my computer and reflect on the daily assignment then shoot before I go to work, and make sure I set sometime aside when I get home to choose my image for editing and upload it to the community gallery they have set up for us. It's only the 2nd day, and I'm enjoying it. I like the fact that it makes you think beyond the surface of the literal. The December 1st assignment talked about holding on to gratitude for the holiday season and prompted us to shoot something that we are grateful for. Not only did I shoot one concept that I was grateful for, it made me think of all the other things I was grateful for too. Gah, there were so many! Powerful tool, this project :) I'll be sharing my daily photos in a Facebook album.

There's still time to sign up - they are taking new students until December 10th. If you can't participate this time, they have other classes like Picture Winter  and other seasons as well that will offered later. If you don't want to dish out the money or shoot everyday, this chick does a similar thing on her blog called You Capture. She suggests a feeling or abstract concept once a week, and asks her readers to go shoot it. And I must add, this isn't just for professional photographers. It's for anyone who wants to slow life down a tad and reflect. You can use a fancy smancy DSLR, or your point-and-shoot - hell, she even says she welcomes cell phone pictures.

On a totally unrelated - but kinda related - note, I bought this poster tonight:
  

I plan on hanging it up in my office where I do all my post-processing and blogging. As life continues to get busier and my personal and photography schedule fills up, I hope this will serve as a constant reminder to me keep my photography venture fun and to reflect on why I began this in the first place. Day 2 of my photography project, and I'm already looking forward to more self-reflection.

Hi, 2011 - you're already looking bright from here.

All I Want For Christmas Is a Kelly Moore Bag!

So this past weekend, I wrote a review on the Epiphanie Belle Camera Bag and mentioned a Kelly Moore Bag as my other option. After much afterthought, I decided to go on and order the *fabulous* Kelly Moore B-HoBo Bag in mustard as well. I wanted something that looked less like a camera bag, so that I'm not getting extra attention when walking around. Since I travel a lot, I figured this would be the best bag to take with me when I'm sightseeing and only need a few things, not my entire inventory of equipment.

All of Kelly's bags are extremely popular, so many of the styles have been backordered and have future ship dates. Mine will be shipped early-mid December!

I finally cleaned up my office yesterday and started to gather all of my equipment together since it was scattered all over the place: battery chargers, bounce cards, flash diffusers, lens cleaner, white balance cards, reflectors, backup camera body, and it goes on and on and on. Currently, they're chillin on some shelves of a tv stand - not the most ideal place. The newest bag of the Kelly Moore line, the JuJu Bag, would be THE perfect home for all of my extra equipment. 

Look how much space this baby has! And the walnut color is so classy!

This would be the ULTIMATE Christmas gift (hint, hint)! To any family member reading this: I may have a coupon to help you out if you want to buy me this :) Readers, you can get a coupon too! Check out Kelly's Blog to see how.

Reviews for the B-Hobo bag will come as soon as I get it!

Review: Epiphan!e Camera Bag - Belle

I'm a growing photographer. As my skill and clientele grows, so does my equipment. When I started a little over a year ago, my little cheap canvas bag that came with my Canon Rebel Kit was good enough for my camera body and 2 lenses, which rubbed up next to each other - not the most ideal situation for expensive equipment. Now I carry at least 3 or 4 lenses, an external flash, batteries, memory cards, etc. with me on a 2 hour engagement session; more when I shoot a wedding. I had been researching camera bags off and on, all the while wearing my kit bag out. 
Like most women, I wanted my next bag to be stylish yet extremely functional and comfortable. I read many reviews for bags from Kelly Moore, ShootSac, Jo Totes, and Epiphanie, yet I hesitated making the jump because buying online without seeing them in person made me nervous. After narrowing it down based on size and style, I couldn't decide between the Epiphanie Belle in teal and the Kelly Moore Classic in fuchsia. Even though the Kelly Moore in fuchsia is chic and many of my photographer friends recommend it, I ultimately let price be the deciding point and went with the Epiphanie Belle.
Here she is:

Isn't she lovely?! I shot with her for the first time last Saturday, and I made her model for me yesterday :) I figured that I'd use my blog as a review in case there are other lady photographers that are trying to figure out if the Epiphanie Belle is right for them.

Appearance
Have you ever bought something online based on the color and then it gets shipped home, only to find the color is a little off (or a lot) from the color you saw on the computer screen? Not here. The teal is exactly what I expected from the Epiphanie website. I love the silver accents: zippers, clasps, tag, and beading (I don't know what else to call it). They are all quality made and firmly attached - no cheap, plastic-y pieces on it. The leather is thick but very soft. You would think being waterproof that the leather would be shiny and pleathery-like - not at all. I haven't had it long enough to come into contact with a bunch of water or drink spills, but I do feel comfortable that it'll do the job of keeping my equipment dry if those situations arose. There are two pockets - one on the front and one on the back. I wish they were a tad bigger, or there were side pockets for more personal items like my keys or cell phone. No biggie - I can still fit my essentials. In the front pocket, there's enough room for my SD Card wallet, my lens pen and writing pens, and extra batteries for my flash and camera in the back pocket. 

Inside and Space 

I am very happy with the space that's available inside the bag for equipment. The whole inside is made of bright green felt material, so the sky is your limit when deciding where to put what and none of your equipment will blend in which makes it easy for you to locate things in your bag. The dividers have really good velcro on the bottom so they aren't the easiest to remove, but that's good. They are thick and sturdy - definitely aren't moving once you put them in place. There's even a little flap over the top that serves a shield for whatever you put in that spot. In the picture below, you can see how I have my bag set up. There was an extra small divider, but I took it out. On the left side, I have my Tamron 10-24mm, Canon 100mm 2.8, and Canon 50mm 1.4; in the middle, I'll have my Canon 60D body on its back with a Tamron 28-75mm attached pointing up; and on the right, I have my Canon Speedlite 580EX II and a bounce card. Even with packing it with all of this, the zipper closes easily and it stands up when I have it on the ground. No worrying that something is going to fall out!

On the Body

The thing I was most worried about was how comfortable it is to wear and how it lays against my body. The longer padded strap is a dream - VERY comfortable and is adjustable depending on where you prefer your bag to fall. The bag width is thick based on how much is packed in it. For me, wearing it without the messenger strap is kinda uncomfortable because my arm has to wrap around the entire bag - very difficult to shoot like this. I prefer to wear it messenger style on my left shoulder and across my body so it falls on my right hip. Leaving the zipper open makes it easily accessible to switch out lenses and grab whatever you need in one fell swoop.

Overall, I give the Epiphanie Bell Bag 4.5 out of 5 stars. It's adorable and makes carrying my equipment effortless - I just wish there were more pockets on the outside for personal items. On its debut shoot, I never got annoyed with the strap or weight, and didn't need to adjust it at all. 

 I highly recommend this bag for anyone who can't decide between Kelly Moore and Epiphanie. Kelly Moore may be THE bag to buy right now, but being $30 cheaper and not being on backorder, the Epiphanie Belle definitely meets my expectations.

I'm Back!

I have great intentions when start a new routine. I'm all about it at first - following through on a consistent basis, then WHAM! I fall of the wagon a month or two later. Unfortunately, I've let this happen to my blogging. But I'm back! :)

Many things have happened since the last time I've blogged. I've given my website and logo a whole new look, dyed my hair blonde (excited to get new professional pics by Tina Wrona in January to show it) and I've redirected my focus to wedding services and event photography, which has made me A LOT busier than I had been. Before I opted to do all of this, I hit a wall. I burned myself out - more quickly than I had anticipated - and it wasn't fun for me anymore. It became what I hoped it wouldn't: a job. After a quick trip to San Francisco in August where I got to shoot landscapes and abstracts for me and no one else, and attending a Business of Photography class with the Portrait Photography Group - Columbia, I decided I would limit myself to shoot what I enjoyed most: engagements, bridals, and weddings. Yes, it may seem that I'm shrinking my clientele. Yes, some of my audience may move on. But I'm okay with it. I rather limit myself focusing on what I love, rather than opening myself to many opportunities doing something I'm not crazy about. I'm being fair to myself, as well as to potential clients. Think about it: would you want me to shoot your kid when I'm not 100% invested? Nope.

After I experienced my first unsatisfied client (who was a friend and oddly never told me she was unsatisfied - just defriended me on Facebook), I realized tiny humans didn't tickle my fancy. Babies straight up scare me. I think newborn baby photography is the most beautiful form of photography and would love to do it - I'm just not built for it. So I decided to stick with shooting what I'm good at and thoroughly enjoy: Love between a man and woman who want to spend the rest of their lives together.

So I'm back - for reals this time - and I'm looking forward to showing you awesome images of the clients that I'm 100% crazy about.

All you need is love.

I love love.

I love being loved and giving love, no matter the relationship - family, friends, significant others or strangers. And unlike a lot of people, I love being around people who are in love with each other, and show it. PDA doesn't bother me - kiss on! A little more love in the world won't hurt nobody.

And I love how love can come in different forms. It took me being in the relationship that I'm currently in to realize that love isn't a cookie cutter shape, and that everyone has their own way of loving - their own "love language" - that they tweak to accomodate each relationship in their life.

On Easter Sunday, I shot Ashley & Del's engagement session in Aiken, SC. Engagement sessions are starting to become my favorite type of shoot, not only because (duh) I get to interact with couples and hear their love story, but it's when I can be my artsy-est. It took them a little bit to warm up to being over-the-top affectionate for the camera, but the best images I captured were the ones when they were just being themselves. They had me laughing so hard at their little bickering back and forth, just to get a rise out of eachother. I captured many geniune & loving smiles at each other, and you just can't fake that. Ashley & Del: I wish you nothing but the best in creating your future together. You two don't need a over-the-top display to show that you love each other - y'all just know, and that's freakin' awesome :) 

I also had a photoshoot recently of Madison, the 3 year old daughter of my childhood best friend Katie. She is the cutest little girl that I've hung out with in a while. I couldn't believe how mature and she is for her age, and her vocabulary - wow. I know Katie is so proud. Obviously the pictures below show how gorgeous and fun she is, but I wish I would have captured more behind the scenes moments when Madison would interact with her mommy. Though I'm not a mother and haven't developed that type of love for something I created out of love, I know Katie feels that Madison is the best thing that has happened to her and that she would give her life to Madison, unconditionally, for the rest of her life. And that's powerful. Katie, I know you know you're going to have your hands full when she gets older, but I also know with the amount of love you have for Madison, you're looking forward to every minute of it.

Love is all you need.

the quick and dirty truth about national chain portrait studios

We've all seen them - the fake smiles and awkwardly posed studio portraits from the likes of Olan Mills, Picture People, Sears, etc. Hell, there's even  a website that's dedicated to the awesomely bad photography at AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com. But yet these studios are still in business. Why, I don't know, but I do know there's more to photography than a white background and a couple of props.

After looking at national chain websites who gave me NO valuable information whatsoever, I decided to do a little undercover research. Insert "Mission: Impossible" theme here.

Alias: April, a mother of 3
Story: Interested in getting shots of my 2 beautiful daughters and 1 son, and some family portraits as well
Companies Targeted: Picture People, Portrait Innovations, Olan Mills, JC Penney, Sears, Kiddie Kandids
Interested in knowing about: Sitting fees, time of session, amount of pictures taken, print fees, cost of CD with copyright release to print your own

Picture People
- No sitting fees
- 15 minutes
- Up to 40 pictures total
- Prints are by page - $18 for color, $23 for black and white; 5 4x6s can fit on one 8x10 page.
- Collection packages start at $148
- $250 for CD - up to 20 images, no artistic effects and personal touches

Portrait Innovations
- No sitting fees
- 15 minutes
- As many as they can in alotted time frame
- No discussion of print prices until after your session
- Portrait special of $9.95 that includes 1 - 10 x 13, 4 - 5x7s, 4 - 3 x 5s, 2 - 8 x 10s, and 32 Wallets - BUT using the image that's the very FIRST click of the camera.
- $250 for CD - 5 poses only

Olan Mills
- No sitting fees
- Up to 15 minutes
- 15 images/poses
- $150 for CD

JC Penney
- $9.99 per person sitting fee
- 15 minutes
- Up to 30 images
- $100 for CD

Sears
- No sitting fees
- 15 minutes
- 9 poses
- Portait special of $7.99 that includes 1 - 8x10, 1 - 5x7, 4 - 3.5x5s, 4 wallets, and 16 minis - one pose only
- $119 for CD

Kiddie Kandids (Babies-R-Us)
- No sitting fees
- 15 minutes
- 9 poses
- No discussion of print prices until after your session
- $199 for CD

All of these include one background in one outfit.

When you actually lay all of these details out on the table, hiring an individual photographer could be a little less expensive and more customized to your wants than a studio chain. I guarantee you that a studio photographer puts every child in the same pose about 10 times a day.

So what's my problem with studio chains?

- They hire anybody, regardless of their knowledge and skill of photography, and train them to shoot in the Auto or Program modes on the camera. Anyone can do this. It's an equivilent of taking pictures with a point and shoot pocket camera.

- Time of session - 15 minutes, really? It takes 15 minutes alone for the child to get comfortable and warm up to strangers.

- Photos lack personality. They are supposed to tell a story. What story can be told on a white background and with props that aren't yours? True personality comes out when one is comfortable and in their own element, like children being at home with their own toys. Furthermore, backgrounds are boring. On location shoots with natural light are much more appealing - plus you get more outfit changes to show your style!

- At the end of the day, they don't care about the finished result. Regardless of the quality of the photos, that's what you get. They don't continuously look at the pictures after they take them to make sure eyes weren't shut or the exposure is correct. Out of the 40 clicks, the photographer could have only capture 10 useable ones. Also, they don't go through each photo and retouch anything. What you see is what you get.

Yep folks, this photo could be yours.

Your family/child/pet mean the world to you and you want to document the memories you share with them. We, as individual photographers, understand this. You aren't defined as a 15 minute time slot. Get in & get out is definitely NOT my motto. Yeah, it may be a larger investment, but isn't your child and the memories you want to capture worth it?

photography-ing everywhere i go

Looking back, I should have taken photography more seriously a long time ago. Carrying my point and shoot everywhere, I was coined the nickname Paparazzi Paige by my best friends. I was always prepared to capture the best moments between us four or something that just looked cool. It started off just being images of me and my friends with our arms around each other or landscapes from tropical locations while on vacation, but then I started to pay attention to finer details and different angles. I believe I officially became a photographer the moment when my brain started automatically alerting me that what I was looking at would make a good image. Below is what I consider my first decent photographic image - taken with a point and shoot after a Catholic wedding in 2005. I remember standing in front of the church across the street waiting on friends to join us outside, when I randomly got the thought that what I was looking at would look awesome in black & white.

Other artists could sympathize - I'm sure musicians and painters get their inspiration from anything that they come in contact with in daily life, even when they aren't consciously looking for it. I just don't know how to explain it, but I will tell you...


IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME NOW.


I can not go anywhere without looking at an object and working out composition, lighting and even post-processing in my head. I can be deep in thought or conversation about something not even related and literally, I'll stop when I see something that tickles my brain's fancy, and either reach for my camera or make mental notes - sometimes verbal - on how I'd photograph that. It's definitely a blessing - this way, I know I'm not pretending to be a photographer - my brain works like one, yay, but it also can be a burden.


Perfect example: I ran the 33rd Annual Cooper River Bridge 10k Race this past weekend in Charleston, SC. I try my best not to think about anything when I run, because usually, it leads me to thinking about walking, and then my body jumps on the bandwagon. I simply just sing along to the songs on my iPod - that's it. Some people concentrate on their breathing, others make to-do lists for when they're done. I just sing. So I'm about 2 miles into the race without stopping to rest, which is pretty good for me and my kidney who hates to run, and I'm singing Miley Cyrus, when I reach the onramp of the Ravenel Bridge. I take one look at the bridge ahead of me and the thousands of people running underneath it's towering suspension and cables, still singing "Party in the USA" in my head, when it hits me: I rather be photographing this than running.
For a moment, I wished I had my DSLR. I started looking at the people around me and how the pain and motivation to push up this bridge would make a great action shot. A father and daughter are walking hand in hand as she points up to the cables of the bridge - that would have been cute to capture. Before I even realized it, I'm walking. And lemme tell ya: it felt so good to walk, but I promised myself that I'd walk to the top, then start running again. Luckily for me, I use my iPhone as my iPod, so I took it out of my pocket and snapped this picture. Of course, it's nothing fancy, but it satisfied my urge to capture this moment.

I make it to the top and Britney comes on. Score, no one motivates me like Britney. I start off in a steady trot, passing the little girl and her daddy, becoming one of the runners showing the determination to finish across my face. About half a mile, I see them. There's 3 of them. They are lined up along the concrete barrier that divides the bridge into traffic lanes. Photographers clicking away, taking pictures of the crowds of people, with their huge and impressive lenses. Must.... not.... stop.... must..... keep.....going.....
It was already too late. I slowed down to chat with one photographer about the lens he was using. Thanks, right brain, not only did you make me depressed because I will never be able to afford that lens, you have now added about 30 seconds onto my time.


Around the 4th mile, two familiar faces started to pass me - it was Heba and Ed from season 6 of The Biggest Loser. Quickly, I took out my phone again and clicked a picture of me following them while in mid run. Not only did following and finishing the race with them motivate me to keep going, but yes, you guessed it, getting a picture with them afterwards with them did too.

 I followed them the rest of the way and finished in 1:23:27 and they finished in 1:23:35. So what did I do? Didn't grab a water or bagel, or bend over to catch my breath - I ran over and asked them for the picture I had been thinking about since 2 miles back, because that's what photographers do.

"Spring"ing the Business

This Spring has been a busy one thus far . The majority of my time has been dedicated to the finer details, as in getting everything squared away to legally deem this project a business. It's definitely difficult to work on these types of things during non-business hours since I have a full time big girl job and a pretty active social life. Nights are for business and the weekend is for shooting, which is pretty unfair if you ask me. Five nights of boring legal mess and only 2 days of creative release, which has forced to me suggesting dates in May and June for client sessions since my March and April 8-day-only calendars have booked up so fast.

One aspect of the business side that I don't mind so much is the creation of my website, http://www.kerripaigephotography.com/. Though it's brought out the anal retentive side of me, I do look forward to coming home and working on it and acheiving the small yet satisfying creativity orgasm that it gives me. Seriously, though; color schemes stress me out. I've had to change it atleast 10 times. I've even become picky choosing the shades of colors. Anyone who says that blue is blue, I beg to differ. I've become best friends with HTML/hex codes in the last month, and know for a fact that there are over 700 shade variations for all colors. Don't believe me? Count them. I dare you. 

Lucky enough to escape the hectic world of LLC's and EIN's and .com's, I had a shoot with my childhood best friend's 3 little boys on Saturday. Jennifer's been a mother for 6 years, and it still freaks me out to hear her be called mom. Her boys are precious though, each of them embodying the 10 year old "Jenn-Fur" I remember, attitude and quick lip in toll. The weather was awesome - the warmest we've had in several months - definitely a great first day of Spring. The photoshoot of 3 turned into a circus of 9, once the neighbors' kids joined us. Now that I can handle 9 kids, I can handle anything. Maybe. 

Below are a couple of my favorites: