Contest! yippeeee!

Did I mention that I'm excited?  I get to go visit my sister in New Jersey in July!!!!!  She is scheduled to have her baby about two weeks before my visit, and I am so thrilled, I decided to have a contest!  
I'm giving away two prizes to two lucky people.  Since my sister and I are twins, I decided there really should be two prizes, not one.  So, drum-roll,  please.....
Prize #1= One Free Session!  *please note, a free session is a $95 value! 
Prize #2= Free "Play-date" cards when you book your session!   I just love these little things, such a cute idea.  You will get to sit with me and choose your colors and designs. Check them out:

How to Play:

visit my fan page and then come back here and leave a comment telling me how you would use your "playdate" business cards.

1st bonus entry--make sure you are a fan of kristen mintz photography on facebook. (It's easy!  Just click on the fan button on the right!)  Come back and leave a comment that you are a fan (yep, that's a second comment to better your chances of winning!).

2nd bonus entry-- share the contest!!!  Post a tweet, fb, blog, however you choose to share the love, go for it!   Come back here (yep, third comment!) and leave me a link to where I can see your PUBLIC post about it! (that means if you're posting on facebook, you need to hit that little lock thing next to your post, and change it to "everyone".)

3rd bonus entry- send me email (kdmintz@hotmail.com) to schedule your shoot with me.  For my Jersey peeps, I will be available from July 22nd until July 27th.  Emails will be added  to however many comments there are.  (If I get 20 comments, the first person to email me would be #21, the next person would be #22, and so on.)

I will be putting numbers, not names, into a hat (rockin' system, right?) and pulling out two numbers!  The first number I pull gets the free session, and the next number gets the free playdate cards!  Good luck and happy sharing!

I just got a new logo *doing the happy dance*

yipee!!!  I got my new logo from Marie at http://daisiesanddamask.blogspot.com/ .  I'm so excited, and I am already dreaming of a million different ways to use my logo as a marketing tool.  So what do you think?

In other news, I am really enjoying my time off.  I am able to catch up with people on Flickr, Facebook, and even Twitter (which I am still trying to figure out, ha ha!)  You can follow me @kristenmintz . Hope to see you there!  Off to make some sidewalk drawings with my daughter!  :)

hello, summer

I can't believe I actually made it through my first year of teaching Kindergarten.  It's amazing that after 14 years of teaching, this was probably the hardest year.  It started off with me on maternity leave for six weeks, leaving my poor Kindergartners with a myriad of substitute teachers (because my district wouldn't allow me to choose my own substitute, who would have been there the entire time).  Anyway, by the time I came in, it was a bit of a mess, but we figured each other out pretty quickly. 
It amazes me how many people (outside of the teaching profession) think that Kindergarten is easy.  Although the subject matter is simple, this is the hardest grade to teach.  Teaching a child how to hold a pencil properly, and how to follow school rules all while they are crying their eyes out because they need a nap, or their mom, or a snack, is no easy task.  I can't wait to take on the next year.
In the meantime, I am going to be trying to fill my summer with photoshoots.  :)
happy summer!

coming to northern New Jersey in late July?

I may be heading to New Jersey (Somerset County and Monmouth County) in late July.  If you'd like to book a session, please send me an email and I will let you know what dates I will be available. Mini sessions will be available as well.  Hope to see you there! Kristen :)

new business cards!

I ordered some fabulous cards from , which I love. They are just beautiful in person! Now I just need to pass some out! Would you like to help? Pass out 25 cards and get $15 off your session fee! Leave a comment below if you'd like to help! :)

1+1=3

you do the math. :) I got to photograph this couple when they were still pregnant, and then had the honor of being asked to photograph their newborn! These 3 seem destined to be together. What a fabulous family.

a slideshow.

so, I have come to terms with the fact that I am a horrible blogger. It's ok with me actually, because it means I have that much more time to spend with my family. So, I'm trying something new... a slideshow!
Here is a slideshow of Jack's 365 so far... enjoy!


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

365 challenge.

I have recently discovered how much I love newborn photography, and it is so fun to be able to practice and play every day with my very own newborn. Today we had a really fun little photo shoot, and he is proving to be a fantastic little model, just like his big sister! I can't wait until I get to do this full time (*sigh, one day....). I started a 365 for Jack, just like I did with Lilly (a photo a day for a year). It's challenging, and I have to admit, there are many days that I want to quit. BUT, it is really worth it. I love the challenge of coming up with something new every day, and I get so much practice- giving me more confidence. AAAhhhh, photography. I love it!

Our new family.

Wow, it has been a long time since my last post! I found out I was pregnant a few weeks after my last post, and had a wonderful pregnancy. It was a stressful time- the end of the school year, weddings, trips back to New Jersey, and then my father passed away a month before I was due. Jack Martin was born exactly one month after that, and it was bittersweet for me.
Lilly has become a wonderful big sister, giving kisses and helping out when we ask. She is still only two, so we aren't expecting her to suddenly become a "mommy" to Jack... she is still very much our baby. Jack is a sweet baby who eats a LOT!

icicles.

First, a little background. Our darling daughter truly enjoys thinking that she is a grown up. She isn't even two yet, which makes me really worry about what her teen years will be like. Ha Ha, I think we are in for it. Whatever she does, she will always try to do it by herself. She enjoys trying to drink her daddy's coffee, or whatever we are drinking. (Which reminds me of when I was little- I used to steal my dad's drink so often that it is still a running joke between us, and now I tell my daughter to steal from him too. He loves it.)
When we sit down to eat at a restaurant, one of the ways we can actually keep her sitting is by offering her the ice in one of our drinks. "Ice" is now one of her top words.

Now that you have the background, on to our story. We have been snowed in for two days now. it was a little fun and exciting at first, but we are all starting to go a little stir crazy. Remember "The Shining?" Ok, nothing that bad, LOL. So last night, we busied ourselves by making a fire while eating dinner. My husband, Matt had the brilliant idea to open the door, break off a gigantic icicle, and give it to our little ice-lover. She totally went to town on that thing, and we finally had to break it into a smaller chunk so she wouldn't freeze to death eating the thing. Her little hands and cheeks were bright red. Such a perfect way to end the evening!

snow day(s?)

I copied this post from weather.com about the snowfall here in the southern CA mountains.
"2:26 pm ET
It's snowing...hard: The reports we're receiving from Southern California paint a picture that the snow falling over the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino counties is coming down fast and furious.

In Crestline (San Bernardino County): A foot or more of snow has fallen in a short time resulting in hazardous travel. Two semis are jack-knifed on highway 138 between highway 18 and the city of Crestline. Numerous disabled vehicles on Highway 18.

The snowfall rate in Running Springs, California is running at 1 foot of snow per hour! That is a sight to be seen...or maybe not...as you can imagine visibility is close to zero.

What's that you ask? Do I feel guilty for taking the day off? And NOT risking the life of my daughter? nope. not at all. I love my second graders. I think they will be fine without me for today. And maybe tomorrow... and the next day.... Ugh.

playdates are fun.

My girl and I got to meet up with a friend I met on Flickr at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego. The girls had so much fun together, and I felt like I had known my flickr friend forever, although it was the first time we had met in real life. Unfortunately, my girl was overtired and suffering from an early onset of the "terrible two's". She was grateful to be able to run around with her new friend. It was a fabulous day, and I am thrilled to have met these two wonderful people!

For once, I can touch what my heart used to dream of

For once in my life I have someone who needs me
Someone I've needed so long
For once, unafraid, I can go where life leads me
Somehow I know I'll be strong

For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of
Long before I knew
Oooh Someone warm like you
Would make my dream come true

For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me
Not like it hurt me before
For once, I have something I know won't desert me
I'm not alone anymore

For once, I can say, this is mine, you can't take it
As long as I know I have love, I can make it
For once in my life, I have someone who needs me

For once in my life I won't let sorrow hurt me
Not like it hurt me before
For once, I have something I know won't desert me
I'm not alone anymore

For once, I can say, this is mine, you can't take it
Long as I know I have love, I can make it
For once in my life, I have someone who needs me

Riley's Farm

We hung out in Oak Glen, CA a few weekends ago. It was a gorgeous day for hanging out with a nice hot cup of apple cider. I love family days.

Halloween and Aunt Jenny.

Aunt Jenny was due to visit us on Thursday, October 30th. She is in charge of Lilly's Halloween costume because she loves doing that kind of thing. On Monday, she called saying that my dad had suffered a minor stroke and that my mother was in the hospital with abdominal pain. My mom ended up having gall stones, which needed to be removed.

"Nenny" is the kind of person who needs to make sure that everyone is happy and ok, so her trip was in jeopardy. Thankfully, my dad seemed to be doing well, and my brother volunteered to take care of my mom while Jen was here. I'm so happy that she was able to come out- she's such a great support for me. We tried to convince her to move to CA with us, but she isn't buying it- YET. *smiles*

Pumpkins.

We took a glorious drive today and found ourselves at a pumpkin patch. we drove over the river (eerrmm, lake) and through the woods, then onto the badlands, and finally found ourselves surrounded by pumpkins. I honestly felt like we were driving around in a fairy tale. Lilly picked out her own pumpkins (I had a hard time stopping her at three) and pushed them around in her stroller. It was so much fun, and the perfect way to spend a gorgeous Sunday.

early frost.

The family and I headed out to Big Bear yesterday, and it was a beautiful, brisk day. We ate some breakfast (mmm, pancakes and coffee!) and then walked around a bit. It was sunny, but pretty cold-33 degrees! As we strolled, my hubby and I noticed some places that had traces of snow already, and then we saw these plants. The poor things were covered in ice, with no chance of seeing warmth again anytime soon.

I think this may be a sign that our summer has come to a close, whether we like it or not. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, though. I think this is a sign that we will see a beautiful winter!

a newborn shoot.

Baby "A" was born on my birthday, so I think it is quite fitting that I got to be his very first photographer (well, besides mom and grandma, ha ha!). There are no words to describe the session, so I will just let the photos speak for themselves.