Penguins Takes Pictures

On every Tuesday, my Aidan visits the library at school and comes home with a new book. Usually, it's a book about Star Wars and then the next week... more Star Wars.... and occasionally a fun book about animals and such.

This week, he came home with a really fun book that I actually really enjoyed reading.... um, maybe 'cause its about TAKING PICTURES! A story about some Penguins who found a camera on the ground as they walk around and take pictures with it, until the owner of the camera comes back to claim her camera and see strange little photos of Penguins.

It's a really cute book and I highly recommend it to all Kindergarten kids.

Amazon sells it: Penguins by Liz Pichon

Going Green with Baby

I recently met a new friend, Amy, she's a mother of one little girl and also a Baby Planner for Itsabelly in San Francisco. Amy and I will be working together as partners to provide quality services for expecting parents and new parents who are both excited and anxious at the same time as they step into this whole new world of "Parenthood".

What is a Baby Planner you ask? Well, its sort of like a 'Wedding Planner' but... for Babies! She can help guide you through your journey towards parenthood as smooth as you can possibly imagine. And she can help with any baby related things you can think of ... such as help to build that fairy tale nursery, or finding the right people to help plan that dream baby shower or just simply finding that perfect stroller for your lifestyle.

The rapid changes a woman goes through in just 40 weeks can make any sane woman... well, insane. And by the 3rd trimester, I'm pretty sure any pregnant mama would really appreciate some help from someone, such as a baby planner. And with some help from an eco-friendly mind and baby planning expert, we can all learn a little bit more on how to raise a 'greener baby', and help create a much greener planet for our little one's future.



Who is she: Amy Kux
Where did you find her: ItsaBelly
Occupation: Baby Planner

1. I got started as a Baby Planner because... I wanted to use my knowledge of "mom tested" products and eco-friendly baby solutions with others. I chose to be part of Itsabelly Baby Planner because it was a team of moms and experts, thus I feel confident that the advice and expertise that I provide is tested by moms. I also want to be able to share my finance and accounting skills to help build a realistic budget for families. Starting right with a baby budget allows room for the occasional splurge.

2. One thing I'm most passionate about with my Baby Planning service is.... the ability to show moms, families and friends of the family the great ways to provide our new generation with the best products and services so we can ensure a healthy sustainable world.

3. When I was pregnant, I did not hire a Baby Planner because.... I had no clue that this was an available service. I spend days researching product after product. I would go to stores, read reviews online, reach out to other mothers on on-line mom-centric communities. There are so many products out there, and even more opinions. I couldn't tell what was a trend and what was really needed.

4. On my free time, I like to... spend as much time with my family. Maya has just started to walk around (with a little help) and I am in awe that we created such a perfect being.

5. 3 Things on your night stand are.... books (one business and one fiction) and my night light. I cannot fall asleep without reading.

6. I stay green everyday by .... eating healthy and as local as possible. I have been a vegan for over 16 years and each Sunday, we take a trip to the Marin Farmer’s market for our local produce.

7. I wish others around me can be more green with our planet by .... being aware of our surroundings. Being green doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Just try to support our local vendors and walk around when possible.

8. If I wasn't a mommy today I would be a ... complete workaholic.

9. The latest baby gear I've been eyeing on is.... all of it. I tend to watch mothers and talk with them whenever I see something new. I think it is essential to learn what is working and not. I just did this and found a way to make my carrier work better.

10. My favorite part of the job is.... teaching and learning from other women daily.

Photojojo

Photography fan? I bet you'll like some of these fun photo gadgets from this site.

Check it out: Photojojo Store

My favorite one is the Spy Lens


*Cough* ...my birthday is in October *Cough*

Baby Noah (Part 2)

I found a few more of my favorites from a session I did of baby Noah from some weeks back. I had to share these, I'm loving the close-ups, especially those lips of his.

My Little Road Runner

I've been trying out my new FLIP video camcorder and learning how to edit videos.

Here's one of my little guy on a regular day at the park ... (make sure your speakers are ON for the full experience!)

*Make sure you catch the end ... he does a ground rolling stunt.

Coming soon: Tot Trends Weekly Magazine

About a week ago, I received some goods news from Tot Trends Weekly - it is a weekly online kids magazine - anyone can sign up for free. It has great kids products and resources. I highly recommend it.

They wrote to tell me that one of my photograph will be featured in their upcoming Mother's Day section. Wow, I'm SO excited and I can't wait till May now. It'll be in their Mother's Day Week issue - it'll be out on May 2nd. Don't forget to come to check it out then.

PhotoFunia

Look, it's my 3 babies... yeh... my 2 boys ON my car...I got so obsessed with them I had my car wrapped, fancy eh?

Ok, ok, I'm just kidding... but isn't that funky? I created that from this new site online that makes fun images with your own photo. Go check it out yourself - PhotoFunia - www.photofunia.com

Here's another one for your enjoyment .... a museum piece... um, yeh. (no, that is not my kid)

DIY: Pinhole Cameras

Ever wanted to make your own Pinhole Camera? or just learn how it works?

Well, here's a great site that lets you download the template and build your own. So fun.... and so much time wasted too (Ha!)

Corbis Readymech Cameras



And if that didn't keep you busy enough... you can also download this PDF here that shows you a much more heavy duty type of Pinhole camera.

Have fun and please share a photo if you do happen to take the time to build one of these on your own.

(Thanks to my friend, Adea for sharing these great links with me) :o)

Origami Camera

I can't remember where I found this photo but I loved it. I would give credit to this origami artist if I knew who it was. Now if I can only know how to do this myself....

They Read

It's all about Chewbacca.



See I told you I'm gonna be better at this blogging thing. So far, so good, eh? (*Let's see how long I can keep this up... I'll try to post at least once a week*)

Btw, who's reading my blog anyways.... I always wonder.... don't be shy now, leave me a comment, tell me you stopped by to visit... drop me a line to say 'hello'. I'd love to know who my readers are... so I can stay motivated to keep on blogging at this rate.

My New Obsession: Camera Things

Recently I've been obsessed with finding things that is camera related.... you know, camera t-shirts, antique cameras, camera pendants.... especially Hello Kitty Photographer items .... well, just practically anything CAMERA related. I love any products that has a camera on it, especially vintage cameras. And as I was browsing through the web, I came across Urban Outfitter's site... they have this whole section on fun camera stuff.... from pinhole cameras to mini Leica cameras.... it's so cute, even if you're not there to buy anything, its just fun to window shop.

Urban Outfitters : Photography

This one is my favorite one... so tiny, so cute, so delicate. It's a Rolleiflex Mini Digital Camera.

Indu @ 35 weeks

The first thing I noticed as I walked into this house was this beautiful couch. I immediately knew I wanted to use it as a prop for our photo shoot. I got lucky that the furniture in this house was so easy to move around, they all slide around on that hardwood floor like ice on a table. I had so much space to work with, I practically created my own studio space.

Our Beautiful first time mommy-to-be, Indu, at 35 weeks. She told me she still fit in her own normal jeans, can you believe that? And she's only 5 weeks away from giving birth. I wish that happened to me, but I looked like a snake who ate a dinosaur egg instead.

Her wonderfully sweet hubby threw her a sweet surprise baby shower the day before we had our photo shoot. No wonder why I was welcomed with beautiful pink balloons and flowers as I stepped into the door. This couple was so giggle when they were together, it was the sweetest thing ever.

Congratulations you two giggly love birds. I hope you guys enjoy these sneak peeks. I can't wait to meet you baby girl in just a few more weeks!

This couch reminded me of the King and Queen.


We even took it outside for some shots. All that heavy lifting was all worth it.


I love how she took out her Indian scarfs for us to use. And we made our own little top out of it. I loooved the colors.

My Sleeping Beauty

With those lashes and lips... I also wonder why he wasn't a girl either.



Before he fell asleep, he showed me his little toe trick. Just look at the grip on power toe. Talented, eh? Yeh, that's my baby.

Bath Buds

My mom was watching my 2 nephews at her house while my brother and his wife were on a little vacation in Europe. So every night, my husband and I went over to help my mom take care of those boys ...with dinner... taking a shower, etc. So on Friday night, we took the kids over to our place instead for some Friday night fun. We washed the boys like a bunch of vegetables in our boys' bath tub. The older boys definitely had too much fun in this bath tub. Seeing them makes me wish I was a kid all over again.

Antiques By the Bay

Last weekend, I finally had the chance to check out the Antique Flea Market that I've heard about for years. This flea market only happens once a month in Alameda. I scored on some antique cameras while I was there... will have to take a few pics to show you guys later. I'll definitely be back there again since I didn't have enough time to see everything (or even got to see half this place either, it was HUGE!). They had a ton of really interesting stuff there. My little Aidan definitely had alot of fun seeing all kinds of interesting old things.

Here's more info of this place: http://www.antiquesbybay.com







No, this wasn't the antique camera I brought home (but I wish I did though)... this one was too much for my wallet... but it was oh-so-beautiful though, I had to at least take a picture of it. This Antique Hasselblad cost $550.

Celebrate the Magic

Doing some more catching up with my blog here. I really need to get better at this thing, don't I?

A few weeks back, I was busy working on a coffee table book for my son's school for a big fundraising event. Every classroom had make a class project that is will be donated and sold to the public for an auction. It was one of the biggest fundraising event that happens throughout the year for the school - its called "Celebrate the Magic".

I brainstormed a bit and came up with this fun idea of doing a coffee table book with all the students. My idea was to have every student participate in this, drawing, a quote and their beautiful faces inside this book.

A book that every children lover would enjoy. A book titled "I Wonder". The kids from the classroom answered the ultimate question - "What do you wonder?".... and we documented their answers and had them draw an artwork that described their answer.

I volunteered my time and did a pro bono photo shoot for their classroom, it took about 2 days to complete the shoot as some kids were out sick and the weather wasn't cooperating.

In this book are photographs of each student, along with their quote and their beautiful artwork. I hoped for the parents in this classroom to fight for this book so that more money will go towards the school. My plan worked wonderfully and I can't be more proud to see the outcome of this.

The starting bid for this book at the online auction was $40. And after a 10 day auction online, my book sold for ... $330 with 27 bids! Can you believe that? I was so excited and couldn't be more happy to know that all that money will help towards this school.

And of course, I had to document all this great news....



Here is a graphic mockup of the book ....