Happy First day of Spring and Happy Birthday to my baby sister! Aren't my niece and nephew quite a pair? We took a quick trip out to the Fresno County Blossom Trail a few weeks ago to get pictures in the almond orchards. I live thid time of year, my only wish is that the blossoms would last longer because they are a such a pretty backdrop this time of year.

A few weeks ago I met up with my cousin, my sister, and their kids for a quick session in the blossoms. I'm always excited to see the beginnings of Spring come to the San Joaquin Valley. With all the fruit and nut trees blooming my allergies are horrible, but the view is one of a kind. The only bad thing is that it only lasts a few weeks. We took advantage of the weather and fit in a mini-session to update the kids pictures. And since today is my cousin's birthday I thought I'd share Miss D on the blog. Happy Birthday Kristi!

 I was inspired by a few ladies in a film group that I belong to on Facebook to jot down a day in my life as a stay-at- home Mom and business owner. Little did I know last week that the day I chose to do this would be a whopper, I seriously considered trashing the whole idea, but then I wanted other Moms out there to know that it isn't just them... we all have days that we later look back and laugh at but at the time we're going through it you just think, "What the hell else is going to happen today?"
A little bit about our family: I am a Mom to four, my two step-sons are grown (the oldest is married with a little guy of their own) and I have a 4 year old son and a 1 year old daughter. My 4 year old, Eric, has Autism and also has delayed speech. He goes to Speech twice a week for an hour while his sister, Amelia (Ellie) and I run errands. My husband is a U.S. History teacher at our local middle school. We've been married almost 6 years.

5:00 am- Amelia wakes up and I search for her binky; my husband brings her a bottle and both of us cuddle up and go back to sleep.

7:30am- Ellie is awake and my hubby comes in to kiss us goodbye. I get up, change her diaper, make her a bottle and get a cup of coffee for myself.

8:00am- check email, check the weather forecast for the weekend- I've already had to reschedule Sunday's family session due to unexpected (but much needed) rain. Saturday is still iffy for my Senior session. Let the dogs out, let the dogs in, lose my coffee, find my coffee, police after Amelia (she's getting into everything these days) More coffee; Start bread by "proofing" the yeast (Eric is an extremely picky eater, so I bake my own bread every week). Feed the animals; watch Ellie as she attempts more steps (she is just starting to walk); attempt to empty the dishwasher without her "help"; What's that smell???? Clean Ellie up and let her loose again.

9:00am- Laundry and Hulu. Time to conquer the growing heap of clean clothes in the laundry basket.that needs to be folded. Add the other ingredients to the yeast and start up my Kitchen-Aid to do the heavy mixing. Eric wakes up and wanders in, he points to my tablet and I tell him "Ok" (it's not a school day, so he gets to play). Time to make breakfast for the kiddos and I can finally empty the dishwasher while Ellie is in "baby jail" (her highchair). Clean up the after the kids are finished eating... Good grief, it's nearly 10am! Back to the laundry.