“There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.  There are seven million.”

~Walt Streightiff

I am working on finishing up this family’s gallery and just thought I would share a few more.  Can’t wait to show you the gallery, B family!  Such sweethearts!

xoxo,

laura

Yay!  One of my photographs from the Alice in Wonderland photo shoot–styled by The TomKat Studio and featuring the talent of SO many fabulous artists–was a featured photo on the Martha Stewart Dreamers into Doers webpage!  SO fun and exciting that they loved it, too!  We had SUCH a blast at the shoot…don’t forget to check out my original blog post to see more of the shoot or visit The TomKat Studio blog!

xoxo,

laura

“Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.”

~John Betjeman

These two sweeties are just sooo precious!  I just love how they both are so different from one another!  Little Miss has the most gorgeous blue eyes, while her big bro has equally stunning eyes but of brown!  They are both so full of energy and curiosity, they reminded me so much of my own babies.    This little man took an immediate liking to my red chair (how could he not, don’t you love it?  He he!) and was happy to take care of my son’s toy airplane that I brought along.  Ironically, it was a Southwest airplane–where both of his parents work!  Fun!  It was a fun session of exploring and playing–thanks so much for an awesome session, B family!  Here are just two sneakie peekies to tide you over for now.    Have fun in Flagstaff–I’m sooo jealous of the weather you will have!

xoxo,

laura

“Siblings–the definition that comprises love, strife, competition and forever friends.”

~Byron Pulsifer

We traveled to California for the long weekend to visit family.  These three are my adorable cousins, and it was so.much.fun to see them again.

It had been awhile–the last I saw them, I was pregnant with Jackson.  My children had never met them, so I was so happy for everyone to be together.  In my mind’s eye, they were small children that loved to run around, hunting for bugs and sweetly coloring at a table.  I got to know three very much older-acting tweens (and a teen) this weekend.

D, the oldest, I quickly discovered loves all things aquatic.  He is intelligent and curious.

The lone girl in between two brothers, S,  still loves to be creative and has such a sweet, mothering side.  She happily chased after Addie as she ran from room to room and watched out for her the whole weekend. 

Little S is the kind-hearted, banana-loving (his nickname is Monkey) younger bro.  He loves donuts with sprinkles and can row a mean paddle board. 

It was a fabulous feeling to get to know my cousins all over again in these new stages of their lives.  We had a blast and stayed busy the whole weekend.  How fun that we now live on the same side of the country. Thanks for showing us SUCH a wonderful time!!

xoxo,

laura

“Her smile beams like sunshine, which fills our hearts with love.”

~ Birgit B

The bond among these three is quite evident.  I had a super fun sesh with these fab ladies!    Mia is so beautiful, and her eyes smiled several hundred times during out shoot, and I loved it!  What a special little girl.  Both girls are just radiant and have the best personalities!  Aren’t their eyes gorg?  I was so happy to be able to have a special Mother’s Day session for this amazing mother.  She is so very caring and loving–it was special to watch her with her girls.  Thank you for a fab-u session and for making the drive!  Enjoy your sneakie peekies!

“There is no such thing as a NON-working mother.”

~Hester Mundis

So, I feel I am always meeting some truly amazing mamas, and I just want to share their stories.  I know many of my blog readers are mamas themselves, and we can definitely appreciate the work that goes into this all-important job.  While I believe that mamas work their tushies off no matter if you stay at home with the kiddos, work outside the home or work inside the home (I actually have done all three myself), the {rockin’ mamas} featured here will primarily be women that have started their own business while still staying home with their sweeties.  It is something that I can relate to in my life right now, and I am very curious to see how other women try to balance their work-kiddo lives.  Maybe we’ll find out that it is that never-ending quest for women–to always try to balance but never feel like you do.  What do you think?  I would love to hear your experiences.

If you would like to be featured, or know of a mama who should be, drop me an email to be considered~ laura@laurawinslowphotography.com  Oh, and please excuse the word “modern” being underlined and linked…can’t for the life of me figure out how to not make that an automatic keyword!  He he!  Actually, I am quite certain I could figure it out given actual time.  I’m just not willing to spend the time I do have trying to figure it out.  So, if you know, feel free to pass it on (it’s not the easy way like just breaking the hyperlink)!

Our very first featured {rockin’ mama} is Grace Stufkosky, a California native that moved to Arizona to be closer to family.  She has two amazing little boys and owns her own business, aptly called Finley and Oliver (can you guess what the names of her kiddo’s are?) .

Meet Grace.  She has got to be one of the most fun-loving mamas around.  Check out this photo of her awesome fam!  When I spotted the shopping cart during our photo session, she didn’t even blink an eye when I suggested that she get in it!  That’s what I call easy going!  Oh, and check out our recent shoot for her new line of clothing.  It was fun!

Grace has also graciously offered a 20% discount to my blog readers, too!!!  Head on over to her shop, enter ROCKINMAMA at checkout, and Grace will refund the 20% via paypal.  Super cool–thanks Grace!  Keep reading to learn more about Grace. 

Please tell us a little about your business and how you developed the concept for it?

Anyone with baby boys can attest to the fact that it is nearly impossible to find cool baby boy clothes. When my boys were itty bitties, I was so frustrated at the lack of fun and modern clothing for them that I decided to create my own. I have a business degree and a love for all things crafty so I thought I’d put the two together and start my own line of appliqued clothing for boys and girls.

How did you choose your business name?

I named it after my super awesome kids!

What makes your business so fab and awesome?

My little applique designs are truly unique. I try to stay away from the traditional designs that you find on kids clothes and focus more on designs that have been inspired by my love of all things modern, simple, and clean. Each of my little creations is hand cut and hand stitched by me on to high quality American Apparel (made in the USA/sweatshop free) garments. I use Eco-fi felt (also made in the USA) which is made out of 100% post consumer recycled plastic bottles. So kiddos can look cute in my clothes and mamas can feel good about it! My clothing is meant to be played in – its meant to get dirty. Just throw those suckers in with the rest of the wash and you are good to go. Trust me, my boys have used and abused their Finley and Oliver clothing and it is still holding strong.

How many sweeties do you have and what are their ages?

I have two amazing, loving, high energy, and hilarious boys. Finley is 3 and Oliver is 2. They are just 15 months apart. My hands are full!

How do you make sure that you are a rockin’ mama to your kiddos while still running your own business?

I’ll be honest here. It is a real struggle for me to be the rockinest mama I can be to my boys and run my own business. Let’s face it, my boys are young and they still need me – a lot. I try my best to organize my schedule so that work time is when the boys nap and after they’ve gone to sleep at night. When I’m not working, it’s “boy” time – we have a blast. I’ll get on the floor and play match box cars with them, wrestle (although Finley keeps telling me I don’t know how to wrestle), play in the dirt – you name it, I’ll do it. My boys mean the world to me and I tell them a thousand times a day how much they are loved and how special they are. They will always come first – even if it means taking a break from the business (which I have had to do before).

What is your biggest challenge as a work-at-home mama?

See above. Oh, and my other challenge is actually squeezing in the time to do my hair and make up daily. If I can accomplish that, I feel like a rock star.

Do you have a website/shop/boutique? As a matter of fact, I do!

www.etsy.com/shop/finleyandoliver. I have a new little blog too – www.finleyandoliver.blogspot.com

If you could jet away on a vacation tomorrow, where would you go?

My husband and I were married for 10 years before we had kids and had the opportunity to do quite a bit of traveling. Of the places we’ve been, London tops them all. I’d jet away to the UK any day.

Thanks a ton, Grace!!  Be sure to keep an eye out for more {rockin’ mamas} each week.  If you have a question you would like me to ask our mamas, just let me know or leave a comment.  If you or someone you know should be featured, drop me an email!  Have a super Tuesday, everyone!

xoxo,

laura

“Friends are like cupcakes in my pantry of memories.”

~Anonymous

Okay, so I just NEED to find an excuse to have one of these babies designed.  Amazing!  Are you a fun bride-to-be looking for something that will cause your guests to talk about your reception for years to come?  Hosting a baby shower and want a wow-za centerpiece?  Planning your child’s birthday party?

Read on and drool.

My dear friends Vicki and Ray worked together to design this unique cupcake holder–it is suspended from the ceiling!  I had to share it with you because they design each holder custom to YOU!  That means no one will be exactly the same and you can work with them to create exactly what you want.  They make quite a team–Vicki is an architect and designs the holders and Ray builds them.  Seriously, I could never do that.  They have some serious talent, don’t you think?

If you are interested in discussing how you can have your own designed, just call Vicki at 602.909.6118 or email her at andersvl@hotmail.com.

I want you to just TRY not to think of cupcakes all.day.long. after checking out these gorgeous photographs from a recent wedding they designed this holder for.

A very special thanks to the wonderful Ali of Ali Broach Photography for generously providing her beautiful images.  All photographs in this post © Ali Broach Photography.  Thanks, Ali!

What is your fave type of cupcake?  All chocolate?  Red velvet?  Yummy!

I love this shot and how you can see it suspended from the ceiling…floating cupcakes!

Mmmmm….:)

So, so beautiful and unique, right?  Give Vicki a call to chat with her, pass this on to someone you know, or simply drool over the cool design and delectable cupcakes.  Anyone making a trip to Sprinkles now? 

xoxo,

laura

“Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life.”

~Albert Einstein

I just love this family.  We had such a wonderful time walking around and chatting for our shoot.  It was a photographer’s paradise!  We came upon fabulous nooks and crannies filled with incredible textures, colors and objects.  Big bro rocked out for me–I love these photos of him jamming on the air guitar!    And, wow!  Don’t mom and dad make the most stunning couple?!  Gorgeous!!  Our session ended with a trip to the ice cream shop.   Little L had dreams of pink ice cream and colored sprinkles the entire day.  She got just that.  Sweet little thing. 

Thanks for a fun day!  xoxo

xoxo,

laura

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

~Winston Churchill

I am soooooooooo excited to announce the 2009 winner of the Giving is Awesome contest. If you’re new to my blog and have no idea what Giving is Awesome is, head over to THIS post for more details.
It was so difficult to choose just one from the pool of SO deserving nominees, but after much deliberation I am thrilled to share with you the winner. One of the nominations came from Charlotte Tanner. Her entry pulled me in from the first sentence and by the end had me in tears over the courage of the winning family.  I’m happy to announce that her nominee, Eric, is the winner of $1200 worth of custom photography! Eric and his family have kept an upbeat outlook despite a year in which their three year old son was diagnosed with a severe form of multiple sclerosis, his wife was found to have cancer and endured subsequent surgery and treatment, and the grandmother who raised him passed away unexpectedly.  Charlotte describes his amazing courage,

“The strength he possesses to keep everything together in spite of such adversity amazes me that he can still keep a sunny disposition and hope.  Giving the gift of photography would give a moment in time of their sucess of a family to be brave together and love each other.  I believe it will give memories of their family and bring joy to their family to keep…”

Eric and family, congratulations and an early Merry Christmas to you.  Your courage and perseverance are shining examples of the human spirit and I absolutely cannot wait to photograph you. For taking the time and full heart to recognize Eric’s strength, Charlotte also wins $225 worth of photography.  Thank you for all of you for being bright spots in this wonderful world.  Thank you so, so very much to all that took the time to nominate the shining stars in their lives.  It means so much.  Merry Christmas!

“When that baby looks into your eyes and you know it’s yours, you know what it means to be alive.”

~ Anonymous

What an amazing “job” I have.  I just feel so lucky to be able to hold babies that weren’t even here just a few short days prior.  What a miraculous thing to be able to look into a baby’s eyes and to truly see the whole world before them.  Seriously.  I am in awe each time I leave a newborn session.  I have definitely been getting my baby fix this month!  This little man was the third little newbie for December, and another client just welcomed a baby boy this morning.  That makes four boys for December!  Isn’t he so sweet?  His parents and big sisters (aren’t they just beautiful, too?!) are obviously in love with him already, and really how could you not be?  Mom and Dad had so many fun ideas–we put this little guy into a stocking, a football helmet (with a strong middle name like Packer can you guess what team is a family fave?), a Santa outfit and so many cute little hats.  Dad is in the jewelry business, so we just had to show how little this sweetie’s toes are by trying Dad’s ring on for size.  He was such a good sport and patiently modeled for me for several hours.  I just had to post the one of him in the stocking because I love how he is seemingly fascinated by his cute little hands.  Thank you for welcoming me into your home–I can’t wait for you to see the rest!  Enjoy your sneak peeks!