For you for Valentines Day...

I'm sure you all know by now, that I have a little business I call Dorothy Nicole Photography.  Well, I've recently thrown caution to the wind and have decided to try out design as a new business endeavor.  I'm, of course still a photographer, but I really enjoy designing and learning more about it.

But, what you may want to know, is that from time to time, I will be giving away FREEBIES on my FB page.  So you may want to hurry on over there and get these...

A Photoshop template Valentines Day Card for boys

Photoshop template Valentines Day card for girls

OR
For those for you who DON'T have Photoshop, I haven't forgotten you!
Grab these adorable tags to add to a staburst candy OR even those starburst mini's.  It'll make a perfect Valentines for just about anybody! :)

OR you can just get ALL 3!!
Happy Valentines Day!

Just click the tab below and it'll take you straight to my Facebook page to unlock the download! YAY!

Enjoy!

She's SIX...and I don't mean Blossom's best friend!

Nora turned 6 years old a couple weeks ago.  I CAN'T believe it!!  She is such a big girl!  A total big sister.  I am very proud of the "big girl" she has turned into.  I remember when she was about 2 1/2 or 3 (well, and 4), she was SO difficult!  You know, that's the age where they like to show and prove their independence.  Since she was my oldest, I didn't realize that she would grow out of it.  I was told she would, but didn't believe it.  Kind of the same way that people say the newborn phase will pass and you'll sleep again.  When it's your first you just can't believe it.  

Well, Nora has TOTALLY matured this year.  She is so helpful and kind, she just wants to please me (and Wade)  If it'll make us happy she'll do it.  I've had to learn to be careful not to take advantage of her giving nature.  Yes, I want her to do what I want her too, but not at the expense of her childhood (ya know what I mean?) 

Also, She is always trying to be the "MOM" to her little sisters. I always hear her telling Audrey, "Mom, told us not to, Audrey".  To which Audrey replies, "You're not the boss of me".  I can't help but gigle when that happens, it's like me and my big sister all over again! :)

Back to Nora, "I first realized her new found mature attitude a couple months ago when I asked her to do something for me.  She siad, "Well, I'm doing (something else), but of course, If you really want me to I will. " I seriously couldn't believe my ears.  It's crazy, she is growing up right before my eyes.  

I try to remind myself how Nora was around 3 years old.  It gives me hope that Audrey won't be so frustrating eventually.  But then, there is still Elise!!  And no, I haven't forgotten the fact that I am gonna have teenage girls soon.  I'm gonna hold on to 6 years old as long as I can!

So here's some pics to document her special day:

She woke up to Bday breakfast of pancakes on a special bday plate!  We don't usually have a hot breakfast, but since I'm not doing bday parties this year, I want o make their birthdays as fun as I can.

She even got to drink out of a special glass.

Her Bbay cupcakes we brought to her class during lunch.

Nora passing them out.  She wanted to pass them all out herself.

 

Nora and her little friend!!  She helped make Nora's day fab by bringing her a bunch of pretty pink roses!!  Isn't that the sweetest?  Nora also had her BF from Arkansas call her.  She LOVED that!! 

Nora's bday cake made by Alecia's cakes and crafts.

She got a couple gifts this year, but nothing big time.  A cute little vest...

Some cool rain boots (which we had to return b/c they were too small.  The sized were l or XL.  How am I to know what sizes fall into L or XL...geeze TARGET!!! :)

Grandma and Grandpa Bolinger sent her a card and stickers.  The card said they donated $$ to St. Jude in her name.  I thought that was so sweet and Nora really took the lack of "giftage" well.  She thought it was very sweet too! :)  What can I say, she's a special little girl.  And, BTW, those stickers are all over her room.  What is it with little girls and stickers??? :)

Before Grandma and Grandpa Schafer left town, they brought her to lunch at Chucky Cheese and Grandma took her shopping.  We actually allowed Nora to go with Mom and I on out special Mother/daughter shopping trip.  I think she REALLY enjoyed being a "big" girl and felt special that her sisters didn't get to go with us! :)

So Happy Birthday my Sweet Nora, We're so lucky to have her in our lives.  Have I mentioned what a special girl she is?? :)

NYE ~ 2012

Last time my parents were with us for NYE, Wade and I went out on the town and we didn't even get home till the next day.  Yeah, we're party animals like that.  haha! :)  Anyways, we decided to stay at home this year and ring in the new year with the kiddos and the grandparents.  Thanks to a couple blogs I follow and pintrest, I found some fun ideas to do with the girls.  

I hung up some girlie balloons and used it as a countdown.  We were supposed to bust one balloon each hour to see the activity inside, but we pretty much did it one right after the other instead.  We got a late start AND we had a faux new years at about 9:30.  I don't think the girls were none-the-wiser!  hehe! 

 

While I made the balloon countdown, Nora made us a New Years banner! 

 I love her creative little mind.

The first ballon activity was to fill out the time capsule worksheet.

One of the last questions was, "I will always remember"...  Audrey's answer was, "Nora". I thought that was adorable.

Ay the bottom it asked, "In 2012, I hope to..."  Nora wrote, "Make something for Mommy".  Again, Sah-weet!!! :)  I love those girls!

The next balloon activity was paint nails.  I found some awesome hot pink glitter and crackle nail polish I knew the girls would LOVE!  They wanted to do pedicures, but we had to move on to the next balloon, which was...

Make noise makers!!

This was Audrey's decor before we rolled it up.

Nora's final project.  That's quite the smilie face, huh?  Maybe a little scary.

The gang with their own decorated noise makers, which btw, were filled with skittles.

Next up, party hats!

Audrey may have had a little help with hers. But she decorated it with a touch of red marker, don't you see it? Simple yet tasteful, right?

Nora wrote and decorated hers all my herself.  I swear, I can't get over how much that little girl has learned this year.  I just love how big her writing is. :)

Now on to confetti.  A must-have to ring in the new year!

They were pretty excited to actually be allowed to use the scissors.  They just kept cutting and cutting away.  Yeah, my girls like to CUT so you better watch out.  LOL!

And welcome 2012!!!  

All and all I think they had a BLAST NYE.  I'm glad we stayed home.

And here's the mess to prove it.  Glad we put the blanket down.  Made clean up a little easier.

Then we played with sparklers.  This was my attempt to take a pic of "2012" written in sparklers.  I was really close to getting it (or at least take a couple more pics to photoshop together, hehe) when the fluid in our lighter ran out.  I didn't even have a match, our stove tops are glass, and we've lost the car lighters in BOTH cars.  I mean, how does that even happen???  I swore we'd try again the next night, but I was over it by then.  haha! :)

We put the girls to bed and stayed up till midnight.  No cheating and ringing it in with the East coast since we live in the East coast this year!  We got our grapes ready for the countdown.  Why?  Well, it's a little tradition that Wade picked up when he was stationed in portugal.  The last 12 seconds before the new year you pop a grape in your mouth for each second.  It represents luck in the New Year. 

Mappy Mo Meer!!  That's how it's said with a mouth full of grapes! :) Also, don't be jealous on my New Year's attire.  I know that the "no-makeup, hair pulled back, and tshirt" kind of look is all the rage this year.  Sorry if you just couldn't pull it off and had to wear some pretty little cocktail dress instead.  Not everyone can be a trend setter, ya know?!  :)

PS...you may be wondering what we did with Elise.  No, we didn't ignore her all night, she missed her second nap and went to bed early.  She pretty much missed the whole event.  It was better that way.  She would've just cramped our style.  Just teasing! :)

The Death of Pretty

Below is an article I read earlier.  It's absolutly right on!!!  I wanted to post it on my blog so that when I print my blog into a book this article will be in there for my girls to read over and over. 

I remember being in college and wanting to be "HOT" although I never really felt that way.  I did, however, feel pretty.  Hopefully,  I can find a way to raise my girls (in this day and age) to stive to feel and value "pretty"!  Luckily, despite my efforts to be hot in my younger days, I found and married a wonderful man that saw and valued the "pretty" in me. But, it's no coincidence, I'm sure, that I found him during a time in my life that I wasn't trying to be "HOT".  I was perfectly happy feeling pretty...and POOF!

Not only do I hope my girls value "pretty" but I hope they ALWAYS look for the same qualities and virtues that they see in their Father!

That is my hope for them! :)


The Death Of Pretty
 by Pat Archbold Wednesday, December 21, 2011 

This post is intended as a lament of sorts, a lament for something in the culture that is dying and may never been seen again.



Pretty, pretty is dying.



People will define pretty differently. For the purposes of this piece, I define pretty as a mutually enriching balanced combination of beauty and projected innocence.



Once upon a time, women wanted to project an innocence. I am not idealizing another age and I have no illusions about the virtues of our grandparents, concupiscence being what it is. But some things were different in the back then. First and foremost, many beautiful women, whatever the state of their souls, still wished to project a public innocence and virtue. And that combination of beauty and innocence is what I define as pretty.



By nature, generally when men see this combination in women it brings out their better qualities, their best in fact. That special combination of beauty and innocence, the pretty inspires men to protect and defend it.



Young women today do not seem to aspire to pretty, they prefer to be regarded as hot. Hotness is something altogether different. When women want to be hot instead of pretty, they must view themselves in a certain way and consequently men view them differently as well.



As I said, pretty inspires men’s nobler instincts to protect and defend. Pretty is cherished. Hotness, on the other hand, is a commodity. Its value is temporary and must be used. It is a consumable.



Nowhere is this pretty deficit more obvious than in our “stars,” the people we elevate as the “ideal.” The stars of the fifties surely suffered from the same sin as do stars of today. Stars of the fifties weren’t ideal but they pursued a public ideal different from today.



The merits of hotness over pretty is easy enough to understand, they made an entire musical about it. Who can forget how pretty Olivia Newton John was at the beginning of Grease. Beautiful and innocent. But her desire to be desired leads her to throw away all that is valuable in herself in the vain hopes of getting the attention of a boy. In the process, she destroys her innocence and thus destroys the pretty. What we are left with is hotness.



Hotness is a consumable. A consumable that consumes as it is consumed but brings no warmth.



Most girls don’t want to be pretty anymore even if they understand what it is. It is ironic that 40 years of women’s liberation has succeeded only in turning women into a commodity. Something to be used up and thrown out.



Of course men play a role in this as well, but women should know better and they once did. Once upon a time you would hear girls talk about kind of women men date and the kind they marry. You don’t hear things like that anymore.



But here is the real truth. Most men prefer pretty over hot. Even back in 6th grade I hated the “hot” Olivia Newton John and felt sorry for her that she had to debase herself in such a way. Still do.



Our problem is that society doesn’t value innocence anymore, real or imagined. Nobody aspires to innocence anymore. Nobody wants to be thought of as innocent, the good girl. They want to be hot, not pretty.



I still hope that pretty comes back, although I think it not likely any time soon. For every Taylor Swift, there are a hundred Megan Foxs, or Lindsay Lohans, or Miley Cyruses etc.



Girls, please, bring back the pretty.

Christmas Festivities

We had a lot of fun over the Christmas break and we were SUPER busy trying to fit everything in!! We of course had to bake...a couple times. Then we took our goodies to some lucky friends house and went caroling AND drove around to look at Christmas lights.  It was a long night, but the girls and us loved every minute of it!

Christmas Eve came and we made iced "doughnuts" for the elves. 

A lot of them did not make it to the Elves.  Quality Control got a little carried away in the taste testing department.  Elise was going CRAZY for them...but I guess they were her size!  hehe!

The girls had a blast making them though!

Then Christmas Eve night came and the girls got to open their Christmas pajamas.

I just love this pic of the big sisters trying to hold  Elise's PJ's up to her!!  And FYI, if there are EVER snapshots of Audrey on this blog, she will either be wearing this outfit or her black leotard with a princess skirt.  She pretty much lives in either of those two outfits while at home! :)

All three struttin' their Christmas PJ's!

We then turned on the Nativity story so we can remember what this Season is REALLY about!!  It's amazing how much the girls understand about the story!!  I'd like to start the tradition of reading it in the Scriptures on Christmas Eve once the girls get old enough!

 Then we put out Santa's/Elve's cookies out and some Eggnog near the stocking so he wouldn't get hungry!!

Santa Came!!!! 

Isn't it a little ridiculous??  I know, it's supposed to be fun and exciting, but I can't help but feel a little gluttonous when I look at this picture.  But, you gotta LOVE grandparents (and Aunts and Uncles)!!  They all sure spoil their grand kids!! And I wouldn't have it any other way! :)

Audrey woke up first and peeked in the dark room and immediately commented on the dollhouse. She was so excited.  She LOVES dollhouses!  Once she woke Nora up, they jumped right in opening their presents.  But, we calmed them down and proceeded in an orderly fashion! LOL! :)

Nora was so excited to get a new fairy.  That is what she's been asking from Santa (and us).  She lost her other one this summer while traveling to California.  She said this one was EVEN better than the other one.  Good job Santa!!

Grandpa played the Santa role and passed out gifts.  He also got his favorite treat (chocolate covered orange sticks)  YUMM! :)

I got pots and pans...YAY!!  I really did mention to Mom that I wanted some and she rolled with it!!  They are really cute and pretty good pans.  They are not dish washer safe, which is a TOTAL bummer, but I'll get over it! :)  Wade also got me an external hardrive for my MAC.  Apparently it's SO popular that it's still on backorder through Amazon!!  Oh well, I'll get it someday!!

We also got a Wii!!  The girls have had a BLAST with it! Audrey's Favorite game is a Dora snow princess game!  We all LOVE just dance, well, scratch that, Audrey doesn't like it bc Nora always wins!  Gotta Love 3 year olds!

Nora finally got to open her present to Jesus!!  It almost got lost in the midst of all the bigger gifts and wrapping paper, but it was by far the most meaningful!

She's been SOOOOOO excited for us to open it.  I thought her gift to Him was just perfect.  She's just a thoughtful little girl.  She made this during Sunday school, so I'll have to ask her teacher if she came up with it all on her own!

The Big girls got a Big Doll house and Elise got a little one to play on her own.  They all couldn't be happier with all their gifts. 

After all the gifts were opened and played with we had our YUMMY and traditional spiced apple pancakes.  Christmas morning just wouldn't' be the same without them!!

Later that afternoon we took some little gifts to one of the local nursing homes!!  The girls just LOVE going there!!

We assigned the girls questions to ask the tenants to initiate a conversation with them.  Audrey's Question was " What is your name?" and Nora's question was, "How is your Christmas?".  Well, we didn't take into consideration that most of the tenants might be hearing impaired.  This is how a couple conversations went:

Tenant: oh what pretty little girls

Audrey: What's your name?

Tenant: you girls are so pretty.

Audrey: What's your name? ( a little louder)

Tenant: is this for me?

Audrey: What's your name? ( even louder with a bit of an attitude)

Tenant: "Pause"

Audrey:  "Mommy, Why he not telling me his name?" (With TOTAL attitude)

Ahhhhhh....But it's the thought that counts, right??

It was hard to find tenants in their room, some were asleep, but others were out visiting with family.  But we were able to find a couple who were there alone.  So sweet to see how excited they were AND the girls were to see each other!!

We then went home and cooked, cooked, cooked and then had dinner with some GREAT friends and GREAT conversation!! Fun was had by all!!Hope you all had aWonderful Christmas as well!!

I took some fun pics during Christmas that I posted on my Photography blog.  You can check them out here if you want to.  Just me being creative as us photogs do.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but I posted some of my favs there! :)