How do you know what to price yourself when starting your business? I would say it is best to start out with a number you feel somewhat comfortable with so you can focus on gaining confidence in your skills and not worry about whether or not your charging to much. I would say this. In fact, this is what I said to my daughter on the 4th of July. This was the look she gave me.

Pascaline and Blaze had a Lemonade Stand for their second 4th of July.

Our house is in this great location because about five blocks away is the waterfront where a HUGE festival happens on the 4th. So every year, we have people walking by our house as they make their way to the waterfront.

Pascaline wanted to talk about what to charge per glass of Lemonade. She wanted to charge $1-$2 per glass. I was thinking that was a little to high and 25 cents sounded more reasonable. She was frustrated with me because she felt like it would take FOREVER to make money at 25 cents per cup. “Why not just charge more and then we’ll make more $ faster?” she asked.

I told her about starting your business at a reasonable price, then building your confidence up, and even being prepared in case not everyone wants to buy lemonade. (Although, it is almost impossible to say no to these two! Can you hear them yelling “Come get your Lemonade!”)

So we set up our table at the same time a parking spot opens up in front of our house. This guy in a beat up truck pulls up and says “I’m going to grab this spot and then buy myself a glass of lemonade from the kids!!!” YEAH, the first customer of the day!

Blaze pours the guy a glass of lemonade. This guy is probably in his mid twenties. Did I mention his truck was totally beat up? The kids tell him the lemonade is 25 cents. The guys says okay and hands Blaze a $100 BILL then says “keep the change”!!

Okay, the mom in me steps in and says “You can’t give this much money to the kids. For one thing, I can’t break it. And two, this is way too much money.” He has the widest smile ever and says, “But I want to! It makes me happy to give to em.”

I step in again and say, “But the kids aren’t even old enough to really know how much this is. They can’t fully appreciate someone giving them a $100 bill because five $1’s looks like more money.”

I hand the $100 bill back to him. He hands it back to me and says “It’s okay if they don’t understand how much it is. It just makes me happy to give to them.” Then with a big smile he thanks the kids and walks off.

I’m in utter shock. Can you imagine what comes next?

Pascaline walks up to me and says “Mom, I told you we could charge more for the lemonade.”

What do you say to that?

The guy’s words mull around in my head for the rest of the day. “It’s okay if they don’t understand how much it is. It just makes me happy to give to them.”

Can I go a little deeper for a second?

Sometimes I struggle with feeling worthy. When something is handed to me that is so clearly a gift, I struggle to receive it. Whether God is giving me this gift or a loved one–I can struggle.

I have this urge to try and make it up to the Giver. Sounds silly but true. I try to do “things” to let the Giver know how thankful I am, how much I appreciate all He gives, how much I see the degree to what He’s given.

This guy on the 4th of July…his act of kindness was totally pure. I really do believe he meant it when he said it gave him joy to give to the kids.

I’m all of a sudden wondering if all my efforts to let the Giver know how thankful I am have caused me to sometimes miss the other side. The Giver(s) receives joy from just giving to me. And sometimes that is enough for Him.

Just thoughts…I have a feeling I’ll be mulling this experience over for a while. It was to extraordinary to forget about.

As far as how to price your services, you read above what I think. BUT, if you were asking Pascaline…she’d say “Go high and expect the unexpected.”

Can you blame her?

p.s. I posted a blog yesterday afternoon on Photography Tips for Taking Pictures When It’s Dark Outside. Just in case you missed it…

What a crazy and amazing week!

The honor of being in the room when Grayer took his first breath has left me speechless. If you haven’t checked out my little nephew’s photos, you must. I’m totally in love!

But it’s good to be home and back with Brian and the kids. The sun is actually out!! Yeah!!!

I’ve been making myself take naps when the kids take naps. My week of three to four hours of sleep is bound to catch up with me even though I’m on a high from seeing Grayer’s birth.

When I’ve done lots of travel or had to push myself with a project for work, I need to ground myself. On top of napping, I ground myself with cooking. It’s the whole process of cooking that I love. Every thing from going aisle to aisle in the grocery store, as I sink my creativity into what to make for dinner or what type of juicing combination to do in the morning.

Our friend Genie, from the Next Octave, came yesterday to stay for a couple days. Genie is fantastic, you will see more on her later. She told us she wants to write her on blog post of what it looks in our home from an outsider’s perspective. I don’t know, may be scary!

After Genie and I worked out this morning, she made the most amazing greens drink for the family! I had to share because wow, it left me with the most amazing refreshed feeling!

We used the blender and started with Purple Kale.

Then added Parsley, Mint from the Garden, Almonds, Almond Milk, Rice Protein, Just Cranberry Juice, Coconut Water, Fresh Ginger, Frozen Blueberries, and a little Ice.

Voila! Try it!

Anyone else like to juice? If you do, please, please, please share your juicing recipes in the comments!

What other things do you do to ground yourself after a crazy week?

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Recipe for the above image:

ISO was at 100 for maximum color saturation.

Aperture was all the way down to a 2.0 for that yummy blur.

Shutter Speed was 1/100 or 100th of a second.

Camera was the Sony/DSLR-A300 (love this camera and the 350–you can’t beat the live preview and color quality on these!)

Where did I take the photo? On my kitchen counter.

In the last 72 hours, I got to fly over to Durango, CO and catch up with my dear friend, Jamie Irene. The town in Durango is pretty flat so everyone has these super cute cruisers to get around. I was positive we saw this town in a Norman Rockwell painting.

(notice those cool baskets and tins on the back of our cruisers–insert flowers from the market and baguettes and you feel like you’re living in a dream!)

We found a cute place called Cypress for lunch. It was fantastic, just parked our cruisers out front and caught up on life.

There is nothing like spending time with a close girlfriend who has known you for almost twenty years. If you haven’t already met Jamie Irene on this blog, you have to follow the link because she was the one who had a featured spot on Martha Stewart. Her felted handbags and backpacks for kids are just amazing! (love you James!)

Then the next morning I flew to Denver and met Katie and Fred! They are the sweetest couple, and we had a blast doing their engagement shoot. I’m going to save those photos for later.

After my shoot I had the pleasure of meeting a handful of women for a spontaneous dinner at the Whole Foods in Denver. I only had a hour, but we had a wonderful time talking about business, photography, pricing, marketing…all kinds of good stuff! I was going to hyperlink their websites for you but they are in a different purse, so if any of you ladies see this blog post, feel free to share your websites or blogs with us!

The two ladies in the middle are a Mother and Daughter studio. Isn’t that the coolest thing! It was my first time meeting a Mother/Daughter studio, and I was TOTALLY impressed!

So I came home late last night, kissed my kiddos who were fast asleep. Snuggled into bed next to Brian. Got up this morning, or was it yesterday morning? My days are all confused. Made fruit salad for the kids, took us to the chiropractor, then to Starbucks, then to swim class, and then a long nap. By the time our naps were over the sun had finally come out, and we all went out into the garden.

At about 6:45pm I get an email from my brother that Erica is going to be induced tonight. I mentioned to Brian that I wish I could be at the hospital and be with my little brother. He looks at me and says, “Then you should go.”

By now it’s 7pm. We book a 9pm flight for me, and now I’m in LA by 11pm.

Erica, my brother, and Erica’s mom are all asleep, and I don’t know if my time clock inside is just to screwed up, but here I am blogging next to her hospital bed. Every thing is going really smooth so far, and I can’t wait to meet this little one!

This is definitely one of the busiest 72 hours in a long time!

Anyone else have a busy last few days? By the way, what day is it?

Our family is in the thick of switching to our new routine for the summer with tennis and swim team in full swing. Even though the scheduling is not to crazy, I still feel crazy in my head as we adapt to our new morning schedule. And I think I get Loser Mom of the year award for last night and this morning!

First of all, let’s just say Blaze is not asking for swim lessons. Nope, he’d prefer to stay on the side of the pool rather than in the pool. But he’s four now, and we feel like it’s time he stop clinging to the side of the pool. So picture this…

Blaze screaming at the top of his lungs as I carry him to the pool. Then grabbing my clothes as I lower him into the pool and hand him to his teacher. Me fighting back the tears because I feel like EVERYONE is wondering how I could be so cruel. And then within two minutes, maybe even ONE minute, he is playing motor boat, laughing, splashing, blowing bubbles.

WHATEVER!!!

He totally loves it. So why must we do the whole screaming thing every single time! In Blaze’s defense it’s only Day Two, but still!

Okay, some of you are saying “That doesn’t deserve Loser Mom Awards! We’ve all been there too.” But wait, I haven’t told you about last night!

I come home from the gym one hour after the kids went to bed. Brian tells me that Blaze has been getting out of bed and changing into different pairs of pajamas. Dad is not happy with him. So when I hear Blaze murmur something from the top of the stairs, I don’t even bother looking at him but just say “Blaze, get back in bed.”

Three or four minutes go by…again, murmur-murmur-mama-murmur…

“Blaze, I said get back in bed.”

I’m making myself something to drink, putting the last dishes in the dishwasher, and suddenly I realize that Blaze and I have been having this cyclical dialogue for almost fifteen minutes. I decide to go upstairs and put an end this.

Can you believe this?

He is sitting on the toilet this whole time. His little murmur was “I went poopoo. I need someone to help me wipe.”

I almost fall apart and feel like the biggest LOSER mom ever!! Let’s just say he didn’t look like this at all!

Quite the opposite actually–the most pitiful little boy on the toilet you can imagine who has red lines all over the back of his legs when he stands up. What a loser mom! Don’t you think!

Brian chimes in and says, “He’s LUCKY I didn’t go upstairs because all I know is he’s out of bed again.” How can Brian say that!?? Just cruel!! Brian doesn’t have an ounce of guilt while my guilt truck has pulled up to my driveway and three guys are unloading all the bottles–in WAVES!

Would you have felt bad?

First thing this morning, Blaze comes walking out of the bedroom and says, “Mama, I waited so long for you to help me wipe last night. I still might have red marks on my legs from the toilet.” Then he went and sulked with his blankies.

Oh boy, he’s so got my number!

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Recipes for the above shots in case you’re wondering;

Happy Blaze on the Toilet

Aperture was at a 2.8

Shutter Speed was kind of low. It was at a 80th of a second (1/80). You can’t really hand hold your camera below a 60th of a second and not get camera shake or blur in the shot, so I was playing a little close to fire with being down to an 80th of a second.

ISO was 400. I tried 100 and 200 first but there wasn’t enough light in the bathroom. Photos were coming out to dark, so I had to bump up to a 400. The low ISO is for your best color saturation, and since I was in an all white bathroom, I figured the color saturation wasn’t to big of a deal anyways.

Blaze Sulking with His Ba-Ba’s

Aperture was down really low: 1.6. I shot this with a Fixed or Prime Lens. This means there is no zoom on the lens so I have to move my body to get closer, but because it’s a Fixed/Prime Lens I can go lower than a 2.8 in my F Stop. Hence, the yummy 1.6.

Shutter Speed was at 100th of a second or 1/100.

ISO was at a 200 because I just didn’t have enough light to be all the way down to a 100 ISO.

And a BIG THANK YOU!!!

I wanted to thank ALL of you who send us emails telling us that us you’ve referred our DVD series to your friends and family. The orders come in every day! The continued feedback is AWESOME. We are so excited that you like them so much! And I especially love it when you email me your images from the DVD exercises! I may not be able to respond to all emails, but feel free to always send us your DVD results. We LOVE seeing what you’re able to do after watching Refuse to Say Cheese and Beyond the Green Box!

(It’s one of those long posts today so get your coffee. :))

Back in April we had our wonderful, fragrant, yummy Sonoma Photography Workshop. I have yet to show you my special blog post for this workshop!

But today, I wanted to share with you about our Add On Day with Rick Chapman and some deeper lessons I learned in Portrait Photography.

Rick is an amazing photographer. He does wonderful portrait work for celebrity athletes. But he also has this HUGE heart that oozes out of him when he talks about his family or his photography. This is Rick with his little guy. (fyi, these great workshop images are by Garrett, our fearless Sonoma Workshop Host! Thanks Garrett!)

For the Add On Day, we were given the honor of going to Rick’s home in Stinson Beach. Wow, what a place of quiet inspiration!

He started our time by showing us a breathtaking book that was all about his wife, Leslie. Get this…every page of this book was a single portrait he had taken of Leslie over TEN years time. Rick told us he prepared this in secret and surprised Leslie. He described this as a personal project in documenting that constant, changing beauty of his wife over ten years time. (Oh my goodness, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room at this point!)

As Rick began to teach his approach to working with clients,

he described how he begins a portrait photo shoot. He first starts with one question, “What’s the one photo you’ve always wanted of yourself but never had?” He said that since his clients are often well known celebrities, they’ve had thousands of photo shoots done. So he likes to start with their desires. What a wonderful way to start a portrait shoot, don’t you think?

As the day unfolded, I told Rick there is a portrait I’ve always wanted of me and Brian that has never been done. I asked if he’d be open to trying this idea out while at the same time modeling a photo shoot for the group. Rick was more than willing.

I had no idea what kind of an impact this experience would have on me. Weeks later I’m still processing this photo shoot and the journey he took us on.

So what’s the portrait I’ve always wanted of me and Brian?

It’s a moment when we’re not laughing but the connection between us is ever there and powerful. If you’ve met us you know we laugh a lot together. When people take our picture we’re often being silly. But I’ve always wanted a more serious shot of us–something that reflects our deep losses, the pain we’ve gone through–and shows that their is beauty and life with these things in mind.

As a photographer, I find that sometimes it’s easier or more comfortable to encourage and capture the laughing kind of energy. It’s true to life too. It much easier to be with people who are having a good time, then to sit with someone who is suffering and know you have no answers. This is why I love the verse that says it’s better to visit the house mourning then the house of praise because what a gift it’s been when people have visited my uncomfortable house of mourning.

I told Rick about how we’ve gone through a lot of pain in our marriage. We’ve lost much and still carry the sadness from it. I told him that I want to believe beauty lives in the sadness too.

I want our kids to see that suffering doesn’t stop with the pain: the suffering can also create beauty and goodness. But then I told Rick my two fears. One, I was scared to go to that place with a photographer because it felt so vulnerable, and two, I was afraid that the more “serious shot” wouldn’t be “pretty”.

Pretty? It sounds petty, but it was how I felt. Would I myself see beauty in the serious shot or prefer to stay comfortable with the side of us that is fun? Rick being the safe and gentle artist he is created a space for Brian and I to risk discovering the answer for ourselves.

At first we were laughing because we were nervous. I think it was great for the women attendees to see that even though all three of us are professionals, it still takes work and a little time to get into the core of of your subject–no matter how much experience the photographer or clients have.

When the nervousness started to die down, Rick asked us to close our eyes and think of our children and the gift we have in them.

After a couple moments of our eyes being closed, he asked us to now open them and for me to look deep into the camera with all that I’m feeling.

This is what Rick captured.

He had Brian move behind me and play off the dynamics of our marriage. Brian is the total cuddler between us that often holds me together when I feel like I’m coming apart.

And an unexpected snuggle.

Rick helped Brian and I find a quiet place within ourselves. It didn’t come right away, but he guided us and then all of a sudden we were there. As he was shooting, I could feel the pain, the loss, and the energy of life. It was a moment of such enduring strength.

To have this photographed was an amazing gift.

I realized that even though I wanted these type of images done, I was afraid that I wouldn’t like what they looked like. Or better said, I wouldn’t like what I looked like. Was I comfortable seeing my own serious side, the part that feels the suffering more than the joy? Would I think this side of me was beautiful when captured in a portrait?

As you can imagine, so many lessons were taken from our time with Rick. I know the women who attended took away their own powerful lessons (maybe they’ll share some in the comments…:)). Not to mention how excited I am to ask my clients, “What’s the one photo you’ve always wanted of yourself but never had?” Can you imagine the diversity in answers you would get?!

Rick, thank you for helping us see that yes, their is beauty in the quietness, in the loss, and in the sadness.

We are in debt to you.

Before I went to San Fran for my women’s business workshop, I got something super pretty!!  I can’t believe I forgot to show all of you! 

Want to see!!!

It’s the Sony VAIO CR Series in PINK, in PINK, in PINK-PINK!-PINK!!  oh so pretty pink, laptop!!! I LOVE IT!!!

Look at this keyboard! It’s a brushed pink with a brushed silver keyboard. Women were drooling over this at the airport! I drool over it while Brian is embaressed to carry it for me. I even got a matching pink laptop case.

And can I just say that working on a pink laptop is way more fun and inspiring than a black or silver one!!

(for more close up images of this beautiful thing, click here!)

Thanks for indulging my excitment over pink laptops.  Can you imagine how crazy I’d get with a pink DSLR! 

i stayed in a community house last night where nine other people live

two of them are producers and have recently finished a film on global warming- and they have won Emmy’s

one woman is a strip dancer, yep, you heard me. she isn’t stripping in clubs but she teaches women to strip so that they can find a beauty, freedom and empowerment in their own bodies. (not so they can work in clubs but just feel good about themselves) her heart is to empower women and after talking to her late last night, i went from total shock to complete respect for what this woman’s mission is

and funny coincidence but Loma (who I stayed with last night) owns the spas in all the resorts you guessed yesterday. what a small world, and she is another amazing woman that has blessed me beyond words

and then there’s genie who is my new Japanese american friend, but actually I’m adopting her as my big sister. she let me crash on her futon last night and stayed up way to late with me as we talked about how to take my business to the next level and beyond.

and then there are so many other women I want to introduce to you but the morning is already getting away from me

(love you brian, thank you for letting me go away this week, trusting my instincts even though we had no idea what i was getting into, and I can’t wait to kiss those kids tonight)

I’m in the Napa Valley tonight. If you would have asked me on Friday, “Me Ra, where will you be sleeping this coming Tuesday night?” I probably would have said “home!” Napa Valley?…it was nowhere on my radar! But life has this funny way of putting you in unexpected places at unexpected moments. So here I am, at this exact place.

This home sits on 160 acres at the top of a hill overlooking the valley. The woman who owns it, Loma, has been kind enough to let me crash here for the night. We’ll see where I end up sleeping Wednesday night. I’ll be back home Thursday night and in San Diego by Friday night to meet some of you for the first time! PHEW!

So instead of me just telling you what I’m up to, any guesses?

Here are a few hints…

1. I’m not in a fight with Brian. He’s watching the kids while I’m out here for the next couple of days.

2. I was in Nevada yesterday, Napa Valley tonight and who knows where tomorrow night.

3. I’ve spent some time getting to know 10 beautiful women.

4. My dress has been my Thailand fisherman pants and flip flops.

5. And I got spooked last night and ended up leaving where I was going to stay and stayed in a hotel.

That’s all the clues you’re getting. Your turn to guess, “What the heck is Me Ra up to now?!”

p.s. Thanks for the heads up about our Refuse site being down. Brian is working on what happened. If you were trying to buy our Instructional DVD series these last couple of days and unable to get to the website, hang in there. We should have the site live again soon.

We are also tying up the loose ends on our Chicago Workshop and will probably release the early bird registration next week. So keep an eye out for that. I was going to release it this week, but I think we may have 99% of the details to share if I wait till next week. I’m so excited to spill the beans on what we’ve got happening and who our guest speakers are for the Add ON day!

I’ll try to post again on Thursday, but I’ve had the WORST time finding a good Internet connection. Wait…is that another clue by accident?

I’ve been a bit weepy the last few days.

Nothing major, just tears that well up, fall, then pass. I know within that it’s because this Mother’s Day is the 15 year anniversary of my close friend dying. I know from past years that I tend to get weepy the few days leading up to Mother’s Day. But knowing all this doesn’t make it easier. Isn’t it frustrating when our knowledge won’t override the expectations we put on ourselves?

Brian and I planned to celebrate Mother’s Day with the kids on Saturday b/c I was going to drive north on Sunday. I’m going to visit my friend’s grave site. Then my mom and grandma will join up with me to see a movie and have dinner. Saturday seemed to be a better day to do some fun stuff with the kids.

But without any intention to, shortly after waking up, some of my buttons were pushed and because the tears have been right there, right underneath the surface, they took us all by surprise when the flood came. Instead of getting ready to head out for the day with Brian and the kids, I was upstairs crying. I couldn’t pull it together. My past was alive and in my face. The present surrounding me felt like a fog–people and things out of reach.

As hard as I’ve worked at riding the waves of my grief with ease, they still seem to tidal wave my confidence every time.

What do you do when you so desperately want to be hugged or held but being touched is the one thing you cannot handle? What do you do when you feel like you’re letting your children down because they were so excited to do “this and that” for you, and you can’t pull it together enough to come downstairs? What do you do when the voices inside your head are taunting you, reminding you of how your pain seems to only hurt the ones you love…

Brian is waiting.

He is now in the bedroom with me, sitting on the bed. He is quiet.

I want to yell at him, blame him, tell him to leave me alone…but I know this battle isn’t with Brian. The battle is with myself.

He says, “your beautiful.”

How can he say that.

He says, “your pain, your losses, your grief…it makes you not only beautiful, but stunning.”

He says, “I know you want to be held, but I also know that being touched is to much in this moment. So I want you to know I’m okay waiting.”

I feel like I can’t breathe. The buttons that were pushed this morning were so minor to the pain that seems to be swallowing up our home. I race through all the questions, “Why can’t I be stronger than this? Why do I have to ruin Mother’s Day? What damage am I doing to my kids? Why am I such a mess? Why do I feel like damaged goods again…” The thoughts build like a cyclone inside my head.

And then–without warning–it breaks apart.

The crying transforms to wailing. Brian knows my walls have finally come down. He asks for permission to hold me. I say yes.

Pascaline stands on the other side of the door. I feel like I have failed her.

Brian invites her inside the room and says, “Pascaline, you know how you can get an owie and then it bruises? You know how it hurts when someone pushes on that bruise?” She nods. “Both mom and dad have had painful owies from when we were younger. And sometimes we push on each other’s owies without meaning too, and it makes us hurt all over again. When your older, we’ll tell you more about the things we’ve gone through, but for now, I want you to know that this is what’s going on with mom.”

I take Pascaline’s hand, hold it, give her a hug and tell her I love her. She seems to be okay and runs off to play with Blaze.

I tell Brian that I feel like I’ve ruined this Mother’s Day. He says, “Me Ra, you are the wonderful, passionate, extreme person you are because of the pain you’ve endured. You may not be put together for Pascaline today. But don’t miss the message you gave her. Despite how much you hurt, and how your hurt can separate you from the ones you love, you…you always choose to come back to us. This is the gift you give your family.”

I wanted so much more for our Mother’s Day this year. But this is what it was. The rest of our day was off. We were all exhausted from the morning. After being out for a couple hours, we came home and took long naps. We had pizza with friends and decided to save the Korean restaurant for another night.

The voices never stopped taunting me throughout the day, reminding me of how this was all my fault. You see, they are always with me. But if I could get through the day without responding to those voices, without making decisions based on those voices, then I will have won. Not a “glorious triumph” type of win. But that’s okay, a win is still a win.

To all the beautiful mothers who visit my blog, I hope you see how you’ve won time and time again. I hope you feel celebrated because of your many triumphs. Because whether physically or emotionally, you have not let your pain separate you from the ones you love. You work to not let your own voices dictate your decisions. And you are beautiful in all the things that make you strong and especially weak. You too are stunning.

Happy Mother’s Day.

We had the BIGGEST photography group ever last night! I’m thinking we had close to forty people. There were people standing behind all the people you see sitting, as well as coming off the stairwell, going out doorways–it was crazy great!

Our lawyer, Jennifer Wing, came and talked about the essentials for protecting your small business. Jennifer was fantastic! She is the mastermind behind all our great contracts and photo releases in our 101 Kits. After over an hour of her sharing, we had to cut it off to not exhaust her. The questions were great, and I could tell she was giving her all. But we didn’t want to scare her away from not coming back.

(not the best photo, but it’s still fun to have one right? :))

So I was thinking about how the only other time we’ve had this many people attend our monthly photography meeting was when we did our Martini Garden Party last summer. Who would have known that Martinis and Lawyers pack them in?! Scary to think about what would happen if we had Jennifer come back while serving Martinis at the same time…we’d probably break a fire code!

I have to apologize to those of you who came and asked about where I went after 10pm. I did something I NEVER do. I snuck upstairs and went to bed! Brian had suggested I retire early since I’ve been feeling a bit depleted, and I was mad when he said that because I love a party. But I ended up taking his advice. Blaze got in bed next to me, and we both listened to people talking and laughing downstairs. We couldn’t make out what anyone was saying, but I can’t tell you how wide my smile was. It was so wonderful to hear photographers having a great time together, laughing, sharing stories, talking about whatever–it was a the best background noise to fall asleep too. And I promise I will not retire as early at our next meeting. (but thanks for understanding–and thanks to all my secret elves for cleaning up! Wow! that was super great of you guys–whoever you are!)

Now on to much more serious and important things. Batman is turning 4 on May 5th! Yes, Blaze is a Cinco de Mayo baby. You would have rolled your eyes at my drama when I was in delivery. It was time to push, and I was crying out “No, we have to wait until May 6th, otherwise he’ll be a party boy for sure when he’s in college!!!). But at 10pm, I couldn’t wait to push any longer, and out came this HUGE 10.7lb baby boy!

As many of you know, he has gone through many identities in the last year. Right now he will only answer to Batman or The Dark Knight.

So to all the parents who have gone before me on this one, how can I make a great Batman birthday for him? Cake ideas? Decoration ideas? Out of the box ideas for gifts? Hook me up!