mcdougall photography

I find this time of year very depressing. Pretty soon daylight savings time will come to an end and the condensation on the windows in the morning will turn to frost.

A random gas fill up. $1.16 isn't too bad when you consider it's been much higher than this at times but it's highway robbery when you consider the price has doubled in nine years.

Note to self: the next time you ask "Do I really need to use a double boiler?", the answer is YES. YOU REALLY DO NEED TO USE A DOUBLE BOILER.



Note to Pinterest: the burned pan cleaning method didn't work. Neither did the baking soda and perioxide "miracle" method.

The method that worked was scrubbing the hell out of it with steel wool. Works every time.

In true Castanheiro fashion, birthday celebrations always include at least two celebrations. One during the birthday party and a second one on the actual day.

Happy birthday Dad!

Skating night. A night where I try to keep us as organized as possible, but things always seem to go missing. Tonight it was the snow pants.

I received a frantic call from Jason on my way home from work asking where the snow pants were. The closet was my response and it probably made the most sense, but I forgot about the clear garbage bag on the floor full of clothes for goodwill.

It turns out I was wrong. The boys' 18-24 month sized snow pants still fit. They make perfectly good shorts.

Sigh. I'm still not feeling inspired so I had to go back in the archives for this picture. It's one of my favourites of the boys and it was taken in the first days they were home from the hospital.

It's been 4-1/2 years and it's still incredibly easy to tell them apart in this picture. That's Owen on the left with the birthmark on his forehead and Ethan on the right.

Sorry I don't have anything new this week. I just haven't had a chance to get out with my camera. I'm hoping I can get out sometime this weekend and try attempt number two at Christmas pictures. The first attempt was a disaster.

Have a great weekend everybody!



Just a reminder of the rules:

1. The picture has to be taken by you.
2. The picture has been taken during the past week and it can be a picture you have posted earlier in the week.
3. Link up using the link to your individual blog post and not your main blog address.
4. Please include the Fabulous Friday button (below) in your post to link back to my site.
5. Leave feedback for five other participants. Let them know what you think!
6. By linking up you are okay with me re-posting your photo here if you are chosen for the top five.
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Yes. You heard me. Today was Pinterfest. A day to create and eat A LOT.

Today a bunch of us got together to try out some Pinterest inspired crafts and recipes. It was a huge hit and we had a great time. How could you not with food like this:

Cheddar bacon ranch pulls,



pizza bites,



heart shaped cinnamon rolls, peanut butter rice krispie treats,



pumpkin spice cupcakes,



Coraline cookies,


Skor cheese ball,



and the baked potato soup I made. It looked amazing and would have tasted fantastic had I not burned the hell out of the pot. Crap.

But I would still recommend the recipe. I believe it would have been quite good without the burnt taste.



And what event would be complete without a Pinterest inspired photo booth?



It was a GREAT day. The only thing better than pinning is actually trying some of the stuff out. And who knows - these events could turn out to be a regular occurrence.

Thanks, ladies!

Here we are watching the sunset.

Yeah, yeah. I know it's the sunrise but don't waste your breath. They'll disagree with you every time.



(Ethan left, Owen right)

Happy Friday everyone! Not sure about you, but the time of year is killing my creativity. I'm in a bit of a slump right now. I haven't taken very many pictures lately, so I don't have anything fabulous to share.

I did go to Maggie's house a couple of weeks ago and had a chance to play with her beautiful little puppies who were so cute and made me want to get a second dog. Then I sat down until I felt better. LOL

I hope you had a fantastic week and that you are feeling more inspired than I am! Have a wonderful weekend!



Have a great weekend everybody!

Just a reminder of the rules:

1. The picture has to be taken by you.
2. The picture has been taken during the past week and it can be a picture you have posted earlier in the week.
3. Link up using the link to your individual blog post and not your main blog address.
4. Please include the Fabulous Friday button (below) in your post to link back to my site.
5. Leave feedback for five other participants. Let them know what you think!
6. By linking up you are okay with me re-posting your photo here if you are chosen for the top five.
<a href="http://mcdougallphotography.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z126/scarlett1977_photos/button.gif" border="0" /></a>

The bump bump bump of the dance music playing as the children arrive at the arena.

The sound of the blades hitting the ice.

The excitement of the children as they wave to their parents and glide around.

The shrieking and crying of my sons at centre ice drowning all of this out because they hate skating lessons.

This is the joy of Monday nights.



I've been thinking. If this whole hockey superstar thing doesn't pan out, maybe my kids can form a band.

But with much nicer hair.

Today we celebrated my dad's 65th birthday. It's one of those occasions where I sit back and wonder how the hell we got to this point. How can I have a dad that is 65? The answer is simple. He had me when he was really old. Like 45. ;)

Here he is blowing out his candles with some help from Ethan.

From the angle I'm on, the cake looks a tad suggestive.

They're balloons, people.



Happy Birthday Skippy!!!

The birthday party circuit continues. Every time I go to the store to buy a birthday party present, Ava gets invited to another one. This is the third of five parties, five weekends in a row.

Today was the birthday at the horseback riding place. The weather was miserable and I fully planned to get drenched while I watched Ava ride, so I left my camera at home. Much to my surprise, the entire thing was indoors.

So while I did take some pictures today, you are stuck with iPhone quality pictures.

The horse's name? Lucky.

The footwear? Epic.



The party? A huge hit. We even got to see a girl practice jumping with her horse.

Who knows? We might even have a future jockey on our hands and that's really something considering how much courage it took this shy kid to get up on that horse and ride him around in front of all of the parents and helpers.

It's been a long time since I bought myself anything so it was time for some retail therapy today.

I have a love/hate relationship with you, Old Navy. The Old Navy Collectibles line? LOVE. Buying a pair of pajama pants only to discover some old lady's name ironed inside after you wore them all night? NOT COOL.

It's been five years and I still don't forgive you, but I'll get over it eventually. After all, everybody needs a signature story to tell at parties.