Photoshop is my mistress

You have probably noticed that most of my blog posts include pictures and that's largely because I really enjoy photography. No, I'm not a professional photographer, I'm far from it. I would never classify myself as such. I mean, If you want to see some gorgeous photos, slip on over to one of my BFF's pages and see her work: Anni Cee Photographie. That right there? Pure talent.

But, just because I'm not a pro doesn't mean I won't show off my baby boy. I snap at least a picture a day of Noah and yes, half of them are crap, but, for the ones that aren't, I fix with my beloved Photoshop. Preferably, Photoshop Elements. It's easy to use, easy to navigate and with basic, amateur knowledge, I can go from this:

to this:

No, it's still not perfect and the changes are hopefully subtle but I think it definitely improves the picture. I wish I could source all the places online where I learned these tricks but the best I can do is give you a step by step as to how I reached the end result.

-First, and I do this with every picture, I reduce the noise (speckles that lower the image quality) in the original picture by selecting FILTER, NOISE, and REDUCE NOISE.

I generally leave the settings to default but if you want to preserve more detail, just slide the slider and check out the preview to your liking.

- Next, I generally try to fix any color issues I have with the photo, in this case, there's a bluish tint to my picture. I had my settings off on my camera but by changing the color cast, this is an easy fix. Select ENHANCE, ADJUST COLOR, then REMOVE COLOR CAST. 

A dialogue box will pop up instructing you to click on any part of the picture that should be white, grey or black. In this case, the blanket he's laying on is white so I selected the brightest corner of the photo.

You can see how it changed the hue of the blanket to a bright white. An improvement already!

-From this point, I brighten my picture. Especially since it's a portrait, I have a tendency to like them super duper bright. To achieve this, select ENHANCE, and ADJUST LIGHTING. From here, you can alter the shadows/hightlights as well as the brightness/contrast to change the amount of light you want in the photo.

(Note: you can also brighten the photo by right clicking the BACKGROUND in your layers (on the right hand side), selecting DUPLICATE LAYER, and then selecting SCREEN (or to darken select MULTIPLY). You can then adjust the opacity slider to your liking.)

You can certainly stop at this point but if you want to add any other effects to your picture, you can certainly do so. For instance, if Noah was on a dark background, I would use the soft light effect to enhance the image.

On the right hand side of your screen, right click over your background layer and select DUPLICATE LAYER. 

Then, select SOFT LIGHT from the drop down menu above your duplicated layer. Once you've done that, you can adjust the effect by sliding the opacity to your desired level.

And there you have it. A few simple steps to liven up your portraits!

Bugs. Freaking Bugs.

A few days ago, I realized that Spring really is upon us and with Spring, come bugs. Nasty freaking little bastards that bite and suck and crawl and are all around gross.

I'm not normally squeamish and buts don't usually bother me but I draw the line at ticks. I don't do ticks. Not even a little bit. They gross me out and I want to vomit when I see them. This situation was made worse when I found the first one of the season the other day ON MY NECK. Not on my dog, not on the carpet... i found him on my person. Eoetnweoifverj;werj43098ogjd;fv;oj. <- is pretty much how I reacted.

Then, the next day, I went to get my jacket out of the trunk of my car and a spider had made a web in it and was still there. Just sitting there looking at me with his little bastard spider eyes. No, I didn't freak out like I did with the tick but I still haven't touched my coat even though Kevin washed it. Or so he says. What if there are spider eggs in it? Ew.

Moral of this story? There is no moral. I just had nothing else to post about. And I wanted a reason to post a picture of Bodie.

He got a bath today to ensure there were no ticks on his person.

Five minutes after this picture was taken, he ran outside to pee and promptly rolled around in the field next to our house. You know... where ticks live.

Asshole dog. He's lucky he's cute. ;)

Shameless Sunday Snapshot

Last weekend, my sister, brother in law and I decided to take the kids to have some portraits taken. I'm pretty excited with how they turned out even though Kevin wasn't able to go. Guess that means that's an excuse to get more taken later on, right? ;)

Get ready for picture overload, there were too many good ones to choose from! Thanks to Picture People for the great shots.

My sister and I with our sweet babies

Me with my baby boy!

Quorra's cutie patootie

I love that face.

Cousins!

One of my favorite poses

Look at the pair of blue eyes on these two!

Link up and share your shameless snapshots with Sara!!

Sometimes You Cry

Guys, being a mom is hard. I knew it was going to be hard. When you get pregnant, people say to read books. People gave me tips. Bloggers told me what to do. Regardless, none of this prepares you how to really be a parent. No one can tell you what your baby will do.

Yesterday, I took to twitter to ask my fellow moms what they're favorite part of being a parent was and what was one thing they hated about it. Colleen, Brittany, Meagan, Abby, my sister Heather and even Kari, who is a furbaby mom, came to me with similar answers.

Most of them said they love their baby's smile and the fact that they love you unconditionally. Even as infants, they know they can rely on us and that, in itself, is amazing. Some of them said they loved seeing their baby's father be a dad, and I have to admit, that part is really great. You think you know someone? See them as a parent and you'll see a completely different person.

Of course, most of the ladies said the lack of sleep is the worst. Not only that, but a couple of them said they hate the fact that they feel like they don't know what they're doing. But truthfully, I think Kari put it best when she said that she's petrified of her furbabies being hurt or sad. That girl hit the nail on the head.

My poor Noah had a tummy ache on Monday and there was absolutely nothing I could do but listen to him cry. I had him on my shoulder and he was screaming in pain as I patted his back and sang to him softly. Every little whimper that came out of him just broke my heart into a million pieces. For almost an hour, he writhed in pain and all I could do was just cry with him. My poor husband watched us both break down and when Noah finally fell asleep, I crashed. We both slept for almost 8 hours that night and when I woke up the next morning, I felt so guilty. All I kept thinking while I was trying to go to sleep was how I really hated being a mom in that moment. Seeing him in pain and not being able to do anything was the worst thing imaginable.

I know there's a loooong road ahead of me and this is just one of the many speedbumps I will encounter but knowing these fellow moms and you all reading are behind me really helps. Knowing I have an amazing support system with me, Kevin, and Noah as we go through this journey gives me the confidence I need to be a great mom. We're blessed beyond belief with an amazing family to help us and even though we have bad days, the good ones make it all worth it.

Shameless Sunday Snapshots

This week has been busy for our little family, sorry I've been so absent lately. I'm trying not to think about the fact that I'll soon be back to work and won't get to stare at my sweet baby's face all day long. And watch Bridesmaids on HBO. And nap. And eat chips. I'll instead be staring at my computer screen and answering phones, which isn't totally tragic but let's face it, sitting at home all day doing nothing has been peachy. 

While trying to get my mind off the last couple weeks I have at home, I tried to focus on soaking up every precious moment I have with Noah so we had a little photoshoot for you. Okay, it was mostly just because I was bored. But I'm making you look at them. Humor me? ;)

His heads almost too wobbly for this pose. But hey, we tried! 

I can't get enough of his smile.

Serious model face.

I took major advantage of the good mood he was in yesterday. Before he got all gassy and fussy which was not fun. Oh, the joys of motherhood! 

How is your weekend going? Share your fun and join Sara and I for Shameless Sunday Snapshots!!

Prayers

For anyone that follows me on Instagram, you already know about the wildfires in my area and as of last night, I learned that over 700 acres have already burned in the county next to where we live. In reality, it's about only several miles from where our house is, give or take, and although the fires can't cross the river to get to us, it's still scary.

I took this picture late last night out my front window. The fire stretches for probably 20 miles and reaches from the top of the mountain all the way across to the bottom and several miles that aren't pictured.

These I took this morning when I took the dog out. It's quite literally in my sister's backyard and thankfully, they say so far, it doesn't pose a threat to any structures. 

Things like this rarely happen in our valley, so please pray that anyone the in the path of these fires stays safe and sound. Pray for rain. Pray for the wind to die down. Most importantly, pray for our firefighters.

Unfortunately, this is not the only fire in our area and the forecast says the winds are supposed to come to a halt later in the week. Hopefully, that will put a damper on these flames! 

Shameless Sunday Snapshots

Happy Easter my friends!

Hope you are all having a blessed Easter weekend! We're having a relaxing, lazy Sunday and are off to hunt Easter eggs at my in-laws. Even the adults get in on the action, whoever finds the golden egg gets twenty bucks. Watch out folks, my ass is about to be $20 richer. 

In his Sunday best!

Putting on a happy face for momma! 

Annndd we're back to grumpy baby. 

Link up and share your Shameless Sunday Snapshots with Sara!

Spring Style

I have been so intent on trying to find an Easter outfit for Noah, I completely forgot to look for something that I could wear to church this Sunday. As I was packing up all my maternity clothes (YAAYYY!!), it dawned on me that I really have nothing to wear anymore. I know every girl says this but with my new "mom" figure,
there are a number of things that will have to stay in storage for a while. Anything form fitting will be tossed aside until I can get my six pack back.

Ha. Like I ever had one.

Anyway, I loaded up Noah yesterday and we hit the department stores. First stop was Kohl's and I hit the jackpot right out of the gate. It was all I could do not to buy out everything in the Lauren Conrad line. Her stuff is super cute and none of it is snug or hoochy. It's, for lack of a better term, grown up.

In the end, I walked away with this beauty.

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When it's on, it hangs nicely and the way the bottom is cut, gives a nice shape. The hubs won't be happy when I go back to work because I think a shopping spree may be in order. A new work wardrobe? Yes please.

Oh, wait, we were on the hunt for an Easter dress. Right then. Moving along. 

Well, I had my eye on a couple of LC's pretties but none of them were the right size so this little number caught my eye and I fell in love.

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It may be a little dark but I think if I pair it with a sweet little yellow sweater, I can pull it off for Sunday's service. 

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In the end, for under a hundred bucks, I think I'll have a pretty decent outfit for this weekend. Shopping has never been easy for me since my size has always been in the double digits, so when I found some adorable stuff post-baby, I was ecstatic. I am feeling pretty good but it will take some time to get back to where I want to be. In the meantime, I've got my Spanx on. 

Damn, I forgot about shoes. Back to the mall!! :)

What are some of your favorite Spring outfits?

Happy Birthday

Since my husband reads my blog, I have to take today to wish him a very happy birthday. He's the best dad, husband, friend, uncle, son, brother, and well... basically the best person I know.

From engagement...

To marriage...

To becoming parents...

.... I can't imagine doing it with anyone else by my side. We did all this in three tiny years. Hoping the next 100 are just as amazing.

Love you more babe. Happy birthday. :)

.

Shameless Sunday Snapshots

This week, while linking up with my sweet friend Sara, I thought I'd share with you my pregnancy progress pictures!

I didn't take pictures every week, and you can definitely tell there are a few big gaps but I think it's amazing that I went from zero to BUMP.

I definitely popped around week 30 and from there Noah just kept growing! We still need to get some family snapshots but I can't express how happy I am that he's on the outside now. The human body is an amazing thing and I can't fathom that nine plus months ago, my little boy was the size of a lima bean. I can barely keep a cactus alive yet my body can make a human. Crazy!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and happy April. Spring has sprung my loves.