Juggling it all...

... it was all these things and more... We had such a great Christmas today and we are always so grateful for the time we get to spend with our wonderful family; every holiday with Scott's mom is a precious gift to us. We spent the morning with Grandma Jill who treated us to some of her yummy breakfast pizza and apple dumpling dessert (at 9am... mmmmm). We opened presents and inevitably the questions came... 'is that all?' or 'I wanna open more presents!' - that was always Brooke's line as I think she got the most joy from just the unwrapping process. But, once all the indestructible plastic was removed and every last wire twist tie was unwound from every doll limb and moving part we were in business. The highlights for the kids this year was :: Samantha - Pixos (a ridiculous crafty-project type toy that is waaaaaayyyyyy over simplified in their 20-sec commercial spot that runs every 15 mins on the Disney channel which she just HAD to have), an alarm clock an

... better late than never! Little Miss Sammy joined in all the reindeer fun this Christmas season and took part in a Christmas choir group for kids her age. The final concert was so fun and she was so very excited to perform all of her favorite holiday songs. Every time we would get in the car to go anywhere she just HAD to listen to the Christmas station in case they played one of her choir songs so she could sing along with the music and practice... worked for me. Here is just a quick snippet from the choir concert... man I love my new camera! Christmas Choir Concert 2009 from Michelle Herrick on Vimeo . (PS - And yes, you're seeing double... the girl directly behind Sam just so happened to be wearing the exact same shirt... )

So my 'little' side hobby has taken over my personal life these last few weeks but I am beyond grateful! I have been photographing old friends as well as a few new clients along the way and I'm lovin' every minute of it. Among the photography and the late, late nights editing I was able to help pull off one AH-MAZ-ING baby shower for a dear, sweet friend who just adopted the sweetest little baby , nay angel! I am blessed beyond words for such wonderful and beautiful and inspiring friends that help keep me balanced. At the baby shower we were trying to figure out how long our friendship goes back and we settled on at least 8 years - for that, I am blessed. Dear, sweet, hilarious Stacie hard at work. Girl, I figured for the purpose of this blog I would post this picture and not the "other" angle I got ;-) Love you! Some detail shots... And finally, the YaYa's... the best, most real friends EVER!! Tamara (Miss T), Leanne (the new-est mommy), ma-whaaaaa,

So another turkey day has come an almost gone. We had a glorious Thanksgiving with the Herrick's and have much to be thankful for. Scott had to work today, well at least that's the way the day started out. He was first on the list to be called off if the patient count was low, but no such luck so he went off to work this morning business as usual which left me to take care of EVERYTHING. I signed myself up to bring way more than I would have if I knew I would be doing it alone, but in the end the kids were great, I was super organized and we only left our house 17 minutes later than I wanted to - I can totally live with that! I took just a few pictures mostly for the benefit of Scott so he could see my handy work with the name tag place settings and so he could feel like he didn't miss anything. But then at about 2pm I received a fantastic phone call from the Big Guy saying he was comin' home! He was lucky enough to have discharged his patients and not receive any

...well, swim, of course! The other day we had Sam's BFFs over after school for some play time and during the first hour they were here I had each and everyone of them come up to me and ask me if they could go swimming. Of course being the rigid, un-fun adult that I am I told them... 'heck NO, you can't go swimming! It's November for crying out loud and that water is like -30 degrees or something!' Well, leave it to the Big Guy to say, 'sure, why not'. And so, I present you with the Fab 4 swimming... in November... fully clothed - well, some... and lovin' every minute of it! Note to the mom's... I don't blame if you never let your girls come over again! Sorry! And PS - Sorry for Sam's... ummmm.... 'free spirit' ... we're working on that!

Today, for the first time, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I get it. I am now in the club. I now know why most moms only want a family photo as their gift for Christmas, birthday, Mother's Day or any other gift-giving holiday. Why do I know this... because today was OUR family picture day and it was everything I wanted and more. I don't care if no one looked at the camera, I don't care if we all had something stuck in our teeth... it was a picture of me and my most favorite people on earth and that right there is worth more to me than ANYTHING that could ever be purchased. So, in honor of picture day I just couldn't help but grab my own camera as soon as we got home to get a few shots of my own since we were all lookin' uber cute. Completely random pics, most out of focus (I really am working to train Scott and Sam), but just a little sneak peek of us...

So I have recently ventured into the world of making ribs - on my own - and let me tell you I really am just that good! Thank goodness Samantha loves them, too. At the rate she inhales them she just might choke on a bone if I don't watch out for her. Seriously though, I'm really quite proud of my new found cooking ability. My mom has always rocked the ribs - she can make a mean rack of ribs - so it's always been very intimidating to try something that my near and dear has already perfected. However after a lazy day of channel surfing I came across this cooking show demonstrating how to make some delish ribs. I was hooked. I committed everything this guy said to memory and set out to make my own mean rack of ribs. Ummmm yeah, I'm kind of a rockstar now in my family...we've all been in heaven the last few days with all the leftovers. This was the final stage of the cooking process... the beautification part. Caution... do not attempt to eat your computer scre

I'm just warning you now that every once in awhile I will have to confiscate this blog and use it for my own selfish reasons... mainly contest entries. I know, silly right? You see most giveaway contests want you to leave a post on your own blog about the giveaway itself. Normally I wouldn't bother with ridiculous contests anymore (insert the bad experience I recently had with the whole EBSI website joke-of-a-contest thing) but since I feel like I never win anything, I will reserve my entries for the things that I absolutely have to have and really, really want to win. Case in point... this giveaway contest for this necklace . Ok, bye.

It would seem that Brody has become quite the imaginative little fellow. This is what he did/said to me today... Walked into my office and came up to me sitting at my desk with one of Scott's stethoscopes around his neck and announced that he was Dr. Brody and need to check my heart. Me: OK Dr. Brody my heart is right here (pointing to my chest). Me: Does it sound good? Brody: Well it does have a little gas in it. Me: Oh really? What should I do? Brody: Go to the doctor and spit it out... I'll be right back. Ummm, yeah... apparently for heart gas you're just supposed to spit it out... whatever "it" is. Brody then reappeared next to me with his blanket and said 'Put this on mom, it will make you feel better'. He then checked my stomach with the stethoscope and said there was a rock in it and then left again. Only this time he reappeared with an easter bucket, another one of his blankies, the tie to my bathrobe and the pillow from his bed and told me to &

I personally don't remember mine but I'm almost positive it was met with the whaling and gnashing of teeth - literally. I despise the dentist and it's no secret in our house that even though we have (the worst) dental insurance Scott and I still have a hard time making ourselves be the parent in this situation and just go to the dentist. I can still feel all the anxieties I felt when I was younger having to go to the dentist and orthodontist - it's really quite debilitating. So, when it came time for the twins' first dental appointment I made for darn sure that they thought they were going to Disneyland. There's only enough room in this family for two big babies when it comes to going to the dentist and those spots are already occupied by the Mom & Dad. I was so worried how they would do - they don't do to well when it comes to new, unfamiliar sterile environments - but they both did so great. Brody was really quite the charmer. It was an early enoug

...only because she makes some of her crafty projects look all to easy. Case in point... something I saw once before on her site/blog were these photos of some cutely decorated pumpkins and I just fell in love with the idea and had to replicate. It's like a bad mullet...looks great from the front view... But a hideous, bad idea in the back... Just in case you can't get the full view of my wilted pumpkins, here's a nice close up view... Because of where we set these pumpkins on the half wall in front of our house the sun creeps over our roof and just beams right down on these pumpkins for about 12hrs a day - causing only one side to really wilt; weird, I know! At least the good side faces the street view :=)

OK, so I know I've been slacking a bit with this blog... alright, a lot... but this should hopefully do the trick... This first video is of Sam playing soccer. She does great and we're super proud of our little soccer player! Thanks Mom for being the videographer! (sorry for the poor quality - I think I compressed it a bit too much) Samantha playing soccer from Michelle Herrick on Vimeo . This next video... well, what can I say... it's adorable and totally cute... Oh, and I do apologize now for her mid-song belch... I blame that on her father ;-) Sam and Brooke Singing from Michelle Herrick on Vimeo .

... by not actually posting anything but go to my other blog here to see some UBER cute, SUPER fantastic, WAY sassy photos of our Sammy girl that I just recently took!! And I promise to post some good stuff on this blog very soon including a video of Sam playing soccer and a video of Sam and Brooke singing some church primary songs... stay tuned!

Answer me this... why is it that you can be so concerned about something with your child - to the point that it keeps you up at night - so you finally make an appointment to address the situation only to be practically laughed at and told that your child is perfect, smart and totally cool??!! Since I have twins - and probably more so because they are boy/girl twins - it is easy to "compare" and see the milestones that one accomplishes before the other. Sam was pure and simple a child prodigy when I birthed her - but we may be biased ;-) Brooke exudes those same traits - speaking, fine motor skills, social behaviors - just like her big sister. Our B-boy is such a drummer to his own beat that for the longest time I was convinced he would be enrolled in one of those "gifted and special" programs. So, to rest my mind at ease I scheduled the evaluation appointment with the education specialist and today was the day. But plain and simple he is a ROCKSTAR kid who is i

So I need to write some things down to document the crazy things my kids say... The other day it was me and the twiners driving around town taking care of somethings while Sam was in school. I know (at least I hope) that one day the two of them will be able to ride in the car, sitting next to each other without trying to kill the other. But, until that day comes this drive was just like all the rest. Brooke started crying for some reason or the other and I look in the rear-view mirror and ask her what's wrong. She replies with the biggest crocodile tears and says that Brody scratched her. Not believing he could even reach her, I glanced at Brody and with his head buried in his hands looking as guilty as ever I ask him why did he scratch her. He replies... 'but mom, my muscles are just so big'! Yes they are son, and I love you!!! I was lucky on this same drive to get another funny little nugget from them. I had to run into the camera store to return a rented lens and

This is it... Sam's very first soccer game! Her team was able to get 2 practices in before this game and I don't think Sam really had any concept of what games were really going to be like. I honestly think she thought that games were like practices, but only on Saturday's and with a bunch of other girls. The field. The running. The sweat. She was beat after this game! But in true Samantha fashion, she ROCKED! Especially since this was only her first game in her life and she was the least experienced on her team; all the other girls have played for 1 or 2 years already and not to mention that she is also the youngest, but far and the smallest player on her team. One might think that with all this against her she might buckle and throw her hands in the air in frustration... but not my girl! Thankfully she got her 'can-do' attitude from her Dad. I don't think Scott stopped grinning from ear to ear the entire game; he was soooo proud of her. She did such

Since the big guy had the day off we took a quick trip to Tempe yesterday and ended up at the Beach Park. We were hoping to let the kids play in the water park area but sadly it was closed for maintenance. So of course we had some fun on our own, oh and it naturally became an excuse for a little photo op, too! One of the many, many things I'm grateful for is the fact that when I ask the twins to 'turn on the charm' - meaning to hug, kiss, hold hands, etc. - for the camera, they are more than willing to comply. Hence these next few photos... Brody being such a ham and a stud... I just can't get enough of this kid! This was our cheap entertainment since we could not play in the water... we chased birds. Only this little guy didn't fly away, he actually started to walk up to the twiners. I love the last picture where Brooke is trying to wave the bird over to her... And this is me, relinquishing the photo duties to my other half. It's sad that my kids' only

So, are you sick of these yet? Because I'm not. Sorry. This latest re-do I found inspiration from a shirt I saw at Target. Now, of course I don't run a sweat shop factory in Southern China so my stitching skills leave much to be desired, however I think it turned out OK. Started with a shirt on clearance from Target ($4) and some fabric I already had laying around. Cut out some diamonds, sew, sew, sew, bada-bing, bada-boom... walll-laaaa

Do I really need to say anything...

...these mice will play... at Goodwill that is! Just one of the simple luxuries that exist while Sam is away at school is the little bit of freedom I have with the twins. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely limited to the places I will visit when it is just the twins and me, but Goodwill seems to be a place that I feel won't judge me for my unruly 3 year olds, or my disheveled wardrobe, or my lack of patience with other shoppers. No real treasures today, but I did get a few things... cute dress for Sam, an adorable puffy pink vest for Brooke (yes, I know it is 105 degrees here, but it won't be for long) and a few other pieces for an upcoming photo shoot I'm trying to style. Other than a little public restroom visit for Brooke, we had a fun time... here's the proof...

Yes, we are the Champions! Scott and I have been playing in co-ed volleyball games for our church for the last 6 weeks and last night was the final tournament games. Usually our team looses within the first/second round for no other reason than lack of players, but for some reason the stars aligned for us this year and we had a good solid team from the start. Since these tournament games are for one night only - double elimination - they can drag on for a very LONG time. In years past when our team would loose right away in the early part of the tournament we would be done early and usually home and in bed by 8... (not really for this night owl). I had no REAL idea how long these games kept going for, but HOLY COW... we got home at 12:15AM ... Yes, that's AM... as in the next day... as in our kids were dog tired... as in we kept Sam home from school as a reward for being such an awesome kid and a super-star big sister for helping with the twiners so we could play... and yes, a

I had meant to post this a couple of days ago, but, well, you know the deal... twins, chores, cooking, piano and now soccer... blah, blah, blah... So apparently not only do we have a super-star soccer player among us, but we also have a very talented creative writer. The other day one of Sam's homework assignments was to write down a quick story about ants (yes, ants... those pesky little buggers... I guess they are learning about them in class). Completely on her own, with no help from us WHAT-SO-EVER (except how to spell the words), Sam came up with this... "There once was a princess who sat and had a picnic. The ants came and ate all her food. She was very hungry. So she ate the ants." I was (and still am) completely blown away by her creativity in this short little story. It makes me giggle each time I think of it... it's genius... well, at least we think so! You're awesome Sam!!

That's right, our Sammy girl has got some awesome soccer skills! She was so pumped for her first ever soccer practice today that it was all I could use to get her to practice piano, do her chores and finish her laundry... I know, I'm such the drill sergeant! Now, I knew my little super-star had a mild amount of coordination, and I knew she is most always good at anything she loves and/or practices hard at, but seriously... she was sooooo good today at her very first practice that Scott and I just stood there on the side of the field with our jaws wide open. She is probably the youngest and shortest on the team and the only one to have never "played" before... but by the looks of it you would have never known it. We tried desperately to get her on the team with the other members of her 'Fab 4' posse (3 are on one team and Sam is on another), but we just don't think it's going to work out. So, at the end of the day, we just gotta make due with what we