q&a | part one

so the kids are all happily playing with tinker toys, watching naruto, finding snails in the backyard, and flipping through catalogs in their prospective rooms.

perfect time to sit down with a fresh coke and ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS!

Okay, question #1: How often do you take pictures of yourself? I have no pictures of myself, except when my son (who is 10 and is a fabulous photographer) takes them of me, which isn’t that often. Can I ask another? Do you ever find yourself having to consciously put down your camera and enjoy the moment? Sometimes I get bogged down in capturing the moment, instead of living it!

Get Better! I’ve been in your shoes!!

Posted by: Sheri Colautti | May 17, 2007 at 01:35 PM

I used to take photos of myself all the time. I would have the kids take photos of me. I would have Jeff take photos of me. I would physically draw an invisible line around my body showing him or them where i wanted the photo cropped! and they would normally do a great job. lately, ive gained weight and im not that excited about seeing myself so lets just say me and self portraits? we are on a break.

for me, living the moment and capturing the moment go hand in hand. there is no seperation really. for me to really be living i have to be doing something related to taking a photo. thats honestly when i feel most alive.

Hi Tara…

I think you have the best taste in music around. After seeing both Peter Bjorn and John and Mika on your blog, I went and downloaded their cd’s and I love them.

And since you’ve got such awesome taste in music, I assume you have great taste in movies as well. What are some of your favorites? Do you prefer comeies, dramas, musicals or something completely different?

I hope you get to feeling better soon. Feeling lousy just stinks.

Jennifer M.

Posted by: Jennifer | May 17, 2007 at 01:41 PM

dude, music is my LIFE. seriously. always music on. always searching for my next greatest thing. i love that the kids know current stuff too. i love that we all sing together in the car. their current faves are the beastie boys and mika. when drew was two he loved kid rock! haha. i really love movies too. i love them all-comedies, drama, whatever. i especially love movies that are different, so normally my favorites arent the summer blockbusters with recycled plots and big budgets you know? but even those have their place. its so hard for me to pick but here are some that i really loved.

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
garden state
notting hill
ill see anything with drew barrymore
little miss sunshine
21 grams
the family stone
the royal tenenbaums
love actually
school of rock
bring it on
pulp fiction

thats by no means all of them!

I wanna know what books you love and where you find your clothes… you’re always so styling… and where you like to buy things for your home?

Posted by: Alicia | May 17, 2007 at 01:43 PM

i love to read too. the only problem is, once i start a book i generally cant put it down. so everything gets left in the dust until the story is over. i love sue miller and stephen king. i loved the time travelers wife-i think its my favorite book of.all.time.

oh my gosh-i dont feel styling-i feel BORING. i shop at target and old navy pretty much exclusively. and im not embarassed about that!

for my house-ive always been a “if you love it, buy it” thinker-whether it matches anything else or not. i hate the bed in a bag decorating style even though my mom tried to shove it down my throat-hahhaaa-i drive her so crazy with my mis-matched eclecticism…..and jeff too. poor guy. i shop for accessories online a lot-also pick stuff up at target, cost plus/world market, pottery barn, antique shops….

My question… What do you do to make time for you and your husband? You guys seem to have such a great relationship. How do you make it work?

Posted by: Stacee | May 17, 2007 at 01:49 PM

i am actually incredibly lucky (and i know it) to be married to a man that i love, respect, and admire. and he is lucky to have me! HA! he is my rock. he is my best friend. he makes me laugh every single day. i couldnt live without the type of love i have with him. its as necessary as water and air for me.

anyway, to answer your question-we spend a lot of time together. just everyday stuff-he works from home a couple of days a week so we are hanging out in the house together, grabbing lunch together, etc. we also have a 7pm bedtime for our kids (i know-crazy but it works for us) so we have time togehter every night too. we try to hang out and usually that means laying in bed watching a movie or tv. if he wants to play a video game ill read in bed. we like to be in the same room together at night, even if we are doing seperate things.

for dates, with four kids, its hard. i know you guys understand that. we recently found an amazing babysitter and she loves being here with the kids. we are so lucky. we also plan weekend trips a lot-or i should say jeff plans weekend trips. he is so good at surprising me and picking cool things to do. one of my favorites was a couple of years ago-we rented a red mustang convertible and drove up the coast. stayed on morro bay and monterey and santa barbara for three days. it was a BLAST.

I love your home shots you’ve put on your blog lately. I’d like to know what inspires you when you are dressing your home? Hope you are on the mend very soon. :)

Posted by: Katy | May 17, 2007 at 01:52 PM

like i said a few posts below, what inspires me when picking something for my home is “does this make me smile? does this make me happy? will i LOVE to look at this everyday?

what parts of yourself do you see in each of your kids (good & bad)? i’ve been thinking about this with my own…it’s interesting & not a little bit scary:)

thanks for opening up to mostly non photography related questions:)

Posted by: emilyruth | May 17, 2007 at 02:07 PM

it is interesting and scary and what a cool question. i love thinking about stuff like this. drew is definitely a lot like me. he does really well in school but has a flakey, scatterbrained side. he is also very clumsy. and he cares a lot about what other people think. maybe that is why we have the hardest time connecting-we are so similar in so many ways…

Question 1: You have such a funky style (scrapping and home decor in particular). What are your best sources of inspiration?

Question 2: How do you balance 4 kids and work?

Posted by: marcy | May 17, 2007 at 02:12 PM

man im so flattered that so many of you think my house is cool! *I* think its cool but its fun to hear that other people do too. but at the same time-its so tiny (1450 sq ft) and so messy all the time, i dont always appreciate it as much as i should. anyway for inspiration-i look to my life really. my whole daily existence is honestly geared towards keeping a happy perspective. finding inspiration in everything. just being. that is my biz tagline but it is OH SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT to me. it is my life motto. just be. its okay. whatever you can be, just be. color inspires me, funky things, commercials and photography. magazines.

how do i juggle? well-i dont. thats how. something is ALWAYS on the floor waiting to get picked back up again. it is a neverending struggle for balance. make sure jeff gets enough, the kids get enough, work gets enough, my friends and family get enough…and then there is little ol me-waving feverishly from the ground hoping to be noticed. i am really unbalanced right now-ive been spending way too much time with work and on what *I* want. i am right now as we speak working on shifting that balance back to my family in a healthier way.

Which leads me to my question…Where is your fav place to vacation?

Posted by: denise | May 17, 2007 at 02:16 PM

i really really really REALLY love to vacation. it is one of my favorite parts of life. going and seeing. anything! i think i would have to say my favorite place to go is mexico. its just so chill. its so fun. the food is so yummy. and its just a few hours away. we are lucky.

i want to go EVERYWHERE though. ive been obsessed with australia since i was a little kid so i cant wait to go there. i want to go to india and china and africa, not to mention all of the states in the US!

So I know this is TOTALLY photography related but I’ll throw it out there anyway. Have you given any more thought to teaching a class? I remember you saying way-back-when that you might consider doing something through BPS – what’s the latest on that?

Posted by: Barbara | May 17, 2007 at 02:20 PM

i have decided after a lot of soul searching that i just cannot feasibly add one more thing to my plate. i am not a teacher by nature, so it would be a stretch for me, and the time just isnt there. im sorry!

My question would be….what’s your favorite dessert? I am craving something sweet right now! :)

Posted by: Jen Kallevig | May 17, 2007 at 02:29 PM

a huge bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup……and a big ol’ spoonful of peanut butter.

Are you a shoes girl, a purse girl, or an earring girl??

Photography related, but not technical at all… but if you were to do something ‘totally out of the box’ what would it be? I mean, you do families, that is your main focus… but have you always wanted to do rock concerts? Or anything out of the usual realm?

What is your favorite kool aid flavor?

Posted by: Jen | May 17, 2007 at 02:39 PM

oh man im definitely a purse girl. i wear a size 12 so no matter how much i LOVE and ADORE a good shoe, they never come in my size. and earrings tend to hurt my ears. i love purses. ill ask a kid to get me something from my purse and they go to the coat rack and come back with “which one?”

if i was to do something out of the box it would be something WITH a family. but something crazy or silly. i have an idea in mind right now and i am itching to do it. when i get it done ill share here!

kool-aid……haha…….we went through a HUGE kool-aid period. my favorite is mixing cherry and strawberry together!

Paper or plastic?!?!?!?!

:-)

Posted by: tina Bazala | May 17, 2007 at 02:42 PM

hey tina! :) i definitely prefer paper but sometimes forget and they default to plastic. i am actually looking for my own bags to take with me to the store so that i can do my small part to lower the amount of waste going into the environment.

What is your take on the whole organic food vs. nonorganic foods??

dana

Posted by: Dana | May 17, 2007 at 02:45 PM

honestly? it all just overwhelms me. when i was a kid. we ate top ramen and pbj and hot dogs everyday. there wasnt this huge pressure to be a nutritionist for yourself or your kids. i honestly dont know if its good or bad how strict we are nowadays. i mean, no sweet treats for your kids birthday at school is going a bit far i think. but at the same time, my eating habits are nowhere NEAR healthy.

i guess in a perfect world, i would eat all local organic foods. but my world isnt perfect. :)

Margarita or Mojito? :) Margarita for me…on the rocks, with salt, and Cabo Wabo tequila.

Posted by: ammie | May 17, 2007 at 03:08 PM

mango margarita baby. yum. bring it.

I have a four year old girl too. What is your favorite brands of clothes for her? Lindsay loves her Hanna Andersson play dresses and Hanna capris.
Thanks
Shelley

Posted by: Shelley Laird | May 17, 2007 at 03:44 PM

same as me! target and old navy. we rarely shop at the mall-its just too expensive. i prefer quantity to quality i guess?

My question: Did you get new furniture? Totally loving the red chair!

Posted by: Erin Duitsman | May 17, 2007 at 03:50 PM

hey babes! yep we did. we scored a great deal at costco…

what does your husband do for work?

Posted by: Tami | May 17, 2007 at 03:54 PM

jeff is a project manager for the california state university system. a computer geek turned upper management geek. I LOVE GEEKS. anyone need grades tampered with? he is your man.

How did you end up in Valencia, CA and then in Mission Viejo? I grew up in Saugus, and my parents lived in MV for a number of years, to which I visited! Which area did you enjoy more? And are you originally from either of those places?

Posted by: Holly Child | May 17, 2007 at 04:08 PM

both jeff and i grew up in riverside. when we left, we just followed the jobs basically. we went to corona, woodland hills, valencia, and now MV. we always wanted to end up in OC because its close to family and good schools, beach, etc. valencia is a great place. i really liked it there except it was a little TOO “white bread” for me. cookie cutter and perfect. where would i take my clients for the back alley shots???! lol i dont feel totally in love with the OC like i thought i would. its a good place to raise my kids. and we are close to the beach and the family. i feel like i stick out like a sore thumb around the other moms and the kids school….but i guess that is okay.

what is your ideal day? if you could have a whole day to just yourself, without being sick what would you do?

what is your fave kids store to shop?

how many scrapbook layouts have you done in 2007?

get better now!
tara

Posted by: tara pollard pakosta | May 17, 2007 at 04:11 PM

my ideal day would involve total lethargy and laziness, servants, good food, and friends. OR a really good deal on a super cool something or other, looking in a random mirror and feeling as pretty as i did when i left the house, and many mango margaritas.

i love to shop anywhere. period. i love gap, old navy, nartje, love the surf brands for the kids too.

how many pages? probably 10. if that.

My question – what did you think you would be when you were all grown up? (and maybe you’re not all grown up yet!)

Posted by: laura t. | May 17, 2007 at 04:15 PM

in elementary school i wanted to be an author, then a model, then an actress. but really, i always wanted to be a mom.

My question: what is your favorite “quirk” or trait about each of your kids?

Posted by: Jamie | May 17, 2007 at 04:47 PM

drew: he will help any of the kids at any time. helps me all the time. no questions asked usually. anna needs help with her seatbelt, no problem he does it. the house needs picked up, no problem he does it.

nate: oh god i love his laugh. his natural guffaw is the best thing in the entire world. i love his eyes and his hair. i love that he is a snugglemuffin. i love that he is a natural friend to anyone.

mckenna: there are too many quirks to list with this kid. she loves to rewind the same 30 seconds of a show over and over. she can memorize songs and loves to create stages and stand on them and sing. she can sniff out a can of coke from halfway across the universe. i love her freckles. i love the way she smells right behind her ear. i love how she says i luff you mOM.

anna: this is slightly weird but i just cant get enough of this kids bum. i LOVE her little bum. i love to squeeze it. i love to pat it. its like a buddha belly. its the cutest thing in the world. i love her chin. i love the gap in her teeth. she is being too bratty today for me to be anymore sentimental about her. haha

When you were a kid, what was your biggest dream or goal?

Posted by: Maria | May 17, 2007 at 04:55 PM

to marry an amazing man i was head over heels in love with.
from a very young age coming from a divorced family, i wanted to be able to give my future kids what i never had. two parents who were giddy in love-and happy together.

here’s my question: can you pick your most favorite layout and what is it?

Posted by: valerie | May 17, 2007 at 05:52 PM

i cant. im sorry. that is impossible. i will say my pages in the look book by autumn leaves are some of my most recent favorites-“kiss on da wips” especially!

If you could go anywhere in the world with three of your best girlfriends (no kids and everyone at home was taken care of) where would you go and what would you do? Also, I hope you feel better soon! Shelley

Posted by: shelley | May 17, 2007 at 06:08 PM

anywhere, shop, drink, talk.

I hope my question isn’t too personal…
What’s it like having 4 kids? How far apart are they? We have 3 and are thinking about another one… Shhh. So, I’m curious is it crazy? I’m not even caught up on the baby’s scrapbook and I’m thinking about another??? ;-)

Posted by: Sharon | May 17, 2007 at 07:19 PM

IT IS CRAZY. DONT DO IT! im only half kidding. ;) i could never go back and change things nor would i want to, BUT knowing what i know now about myself and how i deal with noise and um, noise…i would have rethought my desire for a big family. but at the same time, i wouldnt ever change it! its this crazy frustrating mess but i love it so much.

their ages are 11,9,7, and 4. mckenna and drew are 19 months apart. drew and nate are 26 months apart. and nate and anna are 3 years and one month apart. i was pregnant or breastfeeding for almost ten years.

Question for you…compare who you thought you would marry (looks, occupation, etc) to who you did. I always thought I’d marry a tall, blonde who was quiet and bookish. Married a dark and handsome fella who is full of laughs and energy, loves his pinball and isn’t afraid to look silly dressing up to see movies with his kids. Glad someone else had their own idea of who was right for me!!

Posted by: Elisabeth C | May 17, 2007 at 07:34 PM

i married exactly who i thought i would. i wanted someone hot, responsible but laid back, and funny as hell.
i wanted our everyday life to be fun just because of our sense of humor. jeff is EXACTLY my type.

Second, my question: how do you juggle it all? Seriously. You have a successful career, you are a wife and mom of 4, with all sorts of other commitments – how do you do it?

Posted by: Nicole | May 17, 2007 at 07:49 PM

i kind of touched on this already before with the juggling/balance thing. its not easy. i hope i dont falsely make it LOOK easy because it so isnt. its a lot of stress. i forget things for the kids school all the time. im totally “that” mom who gets called the morning of the field trip because she forgot to send a lunch in. but my heart is in the right place and i try really hard so i like to think its charming rather than irritating.

but i do get help. jeff works from home two days a week and i can leave kids home with him if i need to get out and do something. we have great amazing family support. i have a woman who comes twice a month to clean my house and help catch me up on laundry. she is amazing and i appreciate her soooooooooo much. i love her sweet spirit when she is in my house too. she is a wonderful woman.

and we have an amazing babysitter who we all love so much too. i am really weird about leaving my kids with people. in the past, i would only leave them with family. i mean, my oldest is 11 and for years and years we just depended on our moms and close friends. but recently we found camille and she is the best. she loves the kids, has her own car, AND wants to make money. perfect combo for a babysitter in my opinion!

bar of soap OR bodywash?
removeable adhesive OR permanent?
breakfast on the go OR breakfast at the table?

hope you get to feeling better real soon!

Posted by: Meredith S. | May 17, 2007 at 07:53 PM

body soap-neutrogena rainbath-the best!
permanent adhesive
breakfast on the go

okay the kids are starting a revolt against me-its lord of the flies over here-my heads going to be on a stake soon if i dont take them swimming!

part two to come, but first ill post about mine and jeffs story. its a good one. :)