More Softball Season Pictures...

I rarely get to get my camera out at Mallory's games because I'm chasing two munchkins, but last night I had a lot of help, so I was able to sneak in a few pictures. Mallory's having a stellar season. She's doing so good & is our little star player! She's really enjoying the game, which of course Daddy is eating up!

Here's a shot of her scoring. She's has made it on base every time to bat all season except ONCE!

Here's one of Lila with Ms. Amanda, their babysitter:

And a shot of two of Mallory's biggest fans. We drive up to the fields and Clara starts saying "soft-ball"!!
My little redhead...

Look how intent & focused! Mallory's typical position this year has been shortstop.

Mallory's cheering section:

How Many Have You Read?

Found this MEME on another site...

The Bold books are the ones I've read... How about you?

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Real Moms

I read this post written by a friend of mine recently and was very touched. While I can only imagine the pain of losing three babies, I do relate somewhat. As many of you know, my third pregnancy started out as twins. I lost on of the twins late in the first trimester. I still vividly remember the things and thoughts that went on the day I found out. And like Jessica, it's not something I think about all the time. But every now and then it just hits me - we could have TWO little Clara's running around right now. It took me a while to deal with the fact that it was okay for me to grieve. I mean, so many women miscarry and don't have the luxury of continuing with the pregnancy and having a perfect little baby at the end of 9 months. But I have realized that one baby does not replace another, and I still did lose a baby. I've had the opportunity lately to make portraits for lots of twins lately in the studio - and even a set of triplets. They always make me think of what could have been. Twins have a special place in my heart, and probably always will.

For those of you who were wondering...

Yes, Kevin did find the source of the stench. It was not a mouse....

It was a LARGE dead (& decaying) RAT. He cut two holes in my closet wall before finding and removing said rat. Nasty does not even begin to describe it. It wasn't for the weak-stomached. It took me HOURS to go to sleep that night I was so worked up - and I didn't even SEE it. (Refused to look).

So, yes, Kevin gets the husband of the year award. I'm quite impressed that he handled such a yucky dirty nasty job. BLECH. And the cinnamon funk is slowly disappearing from my closet/bathroom. I might start putting clothes in there again soon. =)

Another "Get to Know You" post...

Name: Laura Odom
Right or left handed: Right
Shoes you wore today: Sandals, but had them off for most of the day.
Your weakness: sweets
Your fears: Bad things happening to my children
Perfect Pizza: Beef/Pepperoni/Green Olives
Goal you would like to achieve this year: To make actual profit from my business. :)
Your most overused phrase on a instant message: lol
Thoughts first waking up: It's morning already?
Your best physical feature: Hair? It used to be anyway, before it changed color.
Your bedtime: 11ish
Pepsi or Coke: Coke
McDonald's or Burger King: McDonald's
Chocolate or Vanilla: Vanilla
Cappuccino or Coffee: Cappuccino
Do you smoke: nope
Do you swear: nope
Do you sing: yes
Do you shower daily: yes
Have you ever been in love: yes
Have you ever been or want to go to college: yep
Do you want to get married: Already am
Do you get motion sickness: Occasionally
Do you think you are attractive: not particularly
Are you a health freak: no
Do you get along with your family: yes
Do you like thunderstorms: As long as I am inside - preferably in bed!
Do you play an instrument: Played clarinet in school.
In the past month have you drank alcohol: no
In the past month have you smoked: no
In the past month have you gone on a date: yes
In the past month have you been on stage: no
In the past month have you been dumped: no
In the past month have you eaten sushi: never!
Ever been drunk: no
Ever been called a teased: no
How do you want to die: In my sleep
What country would you like to visit: Greece or Italy
Number of CD's I own: over 100
Number of tattoos: none
Ever been beaten up: no
Ever shoplifted: When I was young (3 or 4) I took some gum from the store & when my mom found out, we had to take it back and I had to apologize.
Number of things in my Past I regret: only a handful.

The Great Mouse Detective...

That would be Kevin... who at this moment (10:30 at night) is pounding away at the sheetrock in my closet trying to find what we're pretty sure is a dead mouse inside the wall that has been causing a FUNK in my closet now for well over a week. It's REALLY bad. I've tried hiding the smell with air fresheners in the bathroom, but it just makes it smell like cinnamon funk. Needless to say, dear hub is not in the best of moods at the moment. Anyone have a remedy for removing dead mouse stench???

Bunnies!!

My girls have LOVED having the bunnies at the studio this week and could hardly wait to take pictures of their own. I was so happy they were all amiable for their pictures. Check out the rest of them HERE.