J Cooper Photography

1.  Woke up late.  Missed my morning prayer time which I NEED in order to stay grounded throughout the day.

2.  Having shoe troubles with my eldest who apparantly thinks every shoe style known to man is uncomfortable.  I finally sent her to school in capris and brown suede t-strap mary janes without socks.  That was a lovely look.

3.  My car died in my neighbors driveway during the morning carpool.  Gear shift was stuck and none of the back doors would open?  We had to have all the kids climb out through the driver seat and my poor neighbor had to take them to school in her pjs.

4.  S man refused his nap at school and instead decided to loudly practice his new vocab words while the other kids slept.  He fell asleep in the car before we even left the school parking lot.

5.  Super tired and grouchy little man wasn’t feeling his hair date with his stylist even after the lolli bribe.

6.  I was dumb enough to take all three to Marshalls to remedy #2.  Then Little Man dropped the above lolli and all hell broke loose.  No shoes.  Lots of tears (mostly mine).

7.  Ms. middle decide the leather interior of my car made a perfect ball point pen canvas then lied about it and said she wasn’t sure who did the “artwork”.  Nevermind that no one else was in the car.

8.  I have a zit on my chin the size of Mt. Rushmore.

9.  It’s only Tuesday.

10. There’s been a run on size 18-24 month khaki pants in Kansas City.  Who are all these people who wait until the week of Easter to dress their children…oh wait…that’s me.

The good news is:  tomorrow we can try again   And it can only go up from here

I’ve finally got my ETSY SHOP loaded again and I’m just popping on here to let you all know!  Hurry over and snag some super good deals while they last!  A few things were selling as I loaded them up this afternoon (thanks to my sweet friends who couldn’t wait!)

I’ve got these fun sets in a run of sizes and priced TO SELL!!  Thanks again to The Librarian for the “sweat shop” help!

Anything purchased after Tuesday will be shipped next week as we are heading out to spend some quality time with the Easter Bunny

It’s time to do some spring cleaning in this crazy house.  I always participate in a bi-annual “Boutique/Name brand garage sale” here in Kansas City (email me if you want to get on the mailing list…this year preview night is April 28th and there are always sooo many cute things!)  But there are some of my personal sets as well as some sets by my friend Laurie of Kandy Kisses that I can’t part with in a sale.  So I’m offering them here first to avoid the hassles of ebay

If you want an item please email me at info@jcooperphotography.com.  First come first serve, folks.  All prices INCLUDE first class shipping.  I will try to be as specific as I can but please note that all of these items are used to some degree.  I do actually let my kids wear their custom clothes (I even let them eat in them….gasp!)  If there are any problems I will note them in the description

PATCHY HALTER & CAPRIS – 4/5- slim 6

$60

Cherokee brand jeans turned capris (no adjustable waist but no problems keeping them up on my thinnish 5/6 year old) .  Elastic back halter top that ties around neck.  Set made by yours truly.

Inseam:  11.5″

Halter length from chest to hem: 14″

Across chest:  21″ with room for stretching

MADE TO MATCH GYMBO CHERRY BABY DENIM SKIRT – Size 5T

$30

I used a Circo jean skirt with elastic back (these run fairly narrow so they stay up great).  Cute hand pleated hem and hand cut appliques.  It should be easy to find a coordinating top on ebay or pair it with a solid color

BUBBLES EURO JUMPER – Size 4/5-thin 6 SOLD

$40

Fun and funky Euro style jumper.  Elastic under the arms, kangaroo pockets, crocheted flower, ric rac, Farbenmix patch.  Made by me…fully lined…buttons at shoulders.

Chest: 23″

Length from shoulder to hem: 25″

KANDY KISSES KNOT TOP and RUFFLES – Size 4/5

$50

Cute dress and ruffles made from Patty Young’s Andalucia fabrics.  Dress buttons at chest.  Elastic waist ruffles (full or cropped length)

Chest: 24″

Length from shoulder to hem: 22″

Inseam: 16″

KANDY KISSES TIERED DRESS SET – Size 4/5 – slim 6

$40

Tiered ruffled dress that buttons at shoulders.  Ruffled pants with elastic waist.  Cute appliqued tank with decorative buttons.  The tank has a couple of darker water spots.  I would imagine these might come out with some treating in the wash…I haven’t tried.  The pants have a mystery stain on the back of one of the legs….not sure what it is.  I haven’t tried treating it.

Chest: 26″

Length from shoulder to hem:  24″

American Apparel tank is a slim Size 6

KANDY KISSES HALTER TOP & RUFFLES – Size 3/4

$50

Cute halter style with elastic back.  Ruffed pants with elastic waist.  Appliqued tank with button details.

Chest: 21″

Inseam: 11″

American Apparel tank slim size 4

KANDY KISSES HALTER TOP – Size 3/4

$25

Same style and cut as above with different fabric.  Cute buttons on the chest.  Looks cute paired with the Matilda Jane brown ruffles or denim cut-offs.

Same measurements as above.

MATILDA JANE LAP DRESS & KNIT RUFFLES – Size 3/4  SOLD

$40

This was one of my favorite outfits   Stripey lap dress has ruffles on the back with brown stitching.  The knit pants are a sturdy ribbed cotton and are capris.  These capris look super cute with just about anything!

Inseam: 13″

Pants are marked a size 4 and run short

Dress is marked a size 2 but was VERY generous!  (we wore it like a swing top)

Length from shoulder to hem: 20″

SWEET TEA CLOTHIER HALTER TOP – Size 3/4  SOLD

$25

This is one of the sweetest tops EVER.  I purchased it from Nicole at 60 Piggies.  If you know her she is one beautiful gal   Pretty floral top that ties at the chest.  Cute layered over a tee or alone.  The proceeds of this top will be sent to Nic to aid in her own adoption fund as she made this top   Looks cute with the MJ brown ruffle pants too!

MATILDA JANE PHOTO LOVE DRESS – 3/4/5  SOLD

{GULP}  Hard to let go of this one but time to move on   Worn for the photo session and one other time.  I’m including the Target tee we used in the photographs as a freebie if you want it.  It is a size 5T.  The color matches a bit better in real life as my flash affected the color some

$45 (great for portraits…of course I’d be happy to take them too – ha!!)

MATILDA JANE TUNIC TOPS – Size 4

Slim fitting tunics that are shirred at the waist.  Super cute with leggings, ruffle pants, or skinny jeans.  Arms are long so we rolled them. The celery green one is in better condition.  It is a thicker knit and looks great (it is also slightly thinner in cut as the knit stretches less).  The blue one has some piling.  It would still be fine under a knot top but it is in more of a play condition.  The piling is most noticeable on the tummy.  If you are a whiz with a sweater shaver you might be able to remove a bit of the fuzz   Cute with the ever popular brown ruffle pants   From the Westside collection for reference.

$30

OK…that’s it for now.  More to come later I’m sure

1.  you find your toddler hiding with the entire box of opened Ritz crackers.

2.  you have more emails to answers than people you actually know.

3.  your 5 year old shyly shows you her little brother covered in heart shaped valentines stamps.

4.  your dinner conversation consists of “hold onto your food…we are going around a corner”.

5.  His refining fire burns extra hot (character building stinks doesn’t it?)

6.  you’re out of M&Ms.

7.  your 7 year old wakes up crying that her hair is too curly and her sister wakes up crying that her hair is too straight.

8.  your husband is in Paris and you aren’t.

9.  ear infections strike again.

10.  you are actually looking forward to monday.

Fortunately,  most of the troubles of the week can be washed away quickly by a few sweet smiles (I caught this one while we were out on the back deck playing!)

Of course this face didn’t hurt my mood either   (when I turned around and saw J doing this I quick snapped the shot and then immediately thought of THIS post by Bethany…these silly girls!)

TGIF friends!

J has one major complaint in life these days.  She doesn’t get to eat lunch at school.  You’d think I was robbing her of a basic human right with how she carries on about this travesty.  We have always sent her to “poor man’s preschool” and after learning that she would indeed only go to half day kindergarten she was just besides herself.  She is DYING to PACK.A.LUNCH.

So today at lunchtime I broke out her lunch box, packed up her lunch, and sent her to eat at the forbidden family room coffee table.  She thought she had hit the JACKPOT!  Funny that she looked so surprised with the contents of her lunch pail when she was VERY specific about WHAT I packed inside

We finished off lunch with yummy Tootsie Pops

I really wanted to get a picture of S-man having his lolli.  But he was engrossed in Yo Gabba Gabba.  I’m emabarassed to admit that I let him watch this during lunch most days because he is OBSESSED with this show (hanging my head in shame here…you have SEEN that show haven’t you?  The orange skin tight body suit alone gives me the heebie geebies!)  In order to capture him in all of his lollipop eating sweetness I turned off the tv…he wasn’t impressed.  He’s acutally kind of blurry…he was shaking his head with a FIERCE “No” and screaming “Gabba Gabba” repeatedly   I’ve created a monster!

I did, however, snag a couple of keepers of my little Jules.  I added some texture and a vintage wash to camouflage our couch in the background.  I love that she always has a willing smile

One more keeper

Thanks for doing lunch my little friends.  See you tomorrow…same time…same place!

Nothing like a group of boys ages 7, 6, 6, and 5 to keep you on your toes!  Throw in a irresistable pond and a cute girl and you’ve got a seriously fun afternoon   Mr. 7 was cracking me up repeating everything I said to the younger boys…so I kept throwing out “Jenn is so beautiful” and “Jenn is the coolest person I’ve ever met”…and he kept repeating me and then busting out in belly laughs.  What a ham!

There isn’t much cuter than 4 little boys all coordinated in their button up shirts…except for little Miss who was all decked out in her Matilda Jane.   Jorie you get extra credit points on wardrobe, my friend!

I was so excited to see things starting to green up outside…too bad it SNOWED 2 days after this photo session!  I grabbed this shot while the kids were goofing around and I think it is my favorite from the day…love how they are all huddled together pretending that they love each other

Silly boys giving me goofy grins   (Don’t worry…we got some serious ones too…but I couldn’t resist the little man cheez’n it up for me).

While I was working with their cousins…these kiddos were planning their next pose for me!  So when I turned around they were all set up for the next shot.  I’ve got some little models on my hands.  Watch out J. Crew…these little guys are working it!

Thanks for a fun afternoon my friends!  See you again soon

1.  We’ve had perpetual company since last Tuesday and I LOVE IT!!!  There is nothing better than having my family here   And even better when they come as reinforcements while my hubby is galavanting around Milan and Paris without me.  It’s always a welcome distraction to have a few more grown ups in the house!

2.  My little man ADORES his “Baboo”  (for the records, I think the feeling is mutual).  They have had some serious block building adventures.  This little guy is so meticulous when it comes to building…not any old block will do.  He has a strategic plan and won’t let you get in his way.  And when it is time for demolition…WATCH OUT!  He is a one serious force of destruction!

3.  The kids were quietly playing upstairs while we waited for “Mimi” and “Baboo” to arrive and when I check in on them…this is what I found.

Not sure the little guy was overly thrilled about the beauty regime, either   Poor guy just doesn’t stand a chance.

4.  Waiting is hard.  I mean…really, REALLY hard.  I’m not a waiter and I’m not patient.  Did I mention I hate to wait?

5.  {Vent}  Do not eat at a family friendly – kid friendly restaurant during the 5:00 hour and make crazy, annoyed eyes and motions towards my table with 7 children in tow.  My friend and I were doing a nice job of corralling our children and did not need the extra snotty, exasperated sighs every 5 minutes because you got placed next to adorably sweet children on your hot date out.  Go to a steak house people. {Vent over}

6.  Little man has learned to wink   {I almost caught it but not quite!}

7.  Chocolate is SO my drug of choice.  I saw my Gastro Specialist last week who reminded me that caffiene and chocolate were indeed on the non-approved list.  To which I replied, “Yes, I realize that I am in fact torturing my gastrointestinal system by the quantities of M&Ms I consume daily.  But my bill for the GI specialist and occasional boxes of Gas-X  is nominal compared to  the bill I would aquire from the Pycho Therapist should I curtail that habit.  Chocolate is my drug of choice…and don’t even try to take that from me.”  At which point he scooted his chair a bit in the opposite direction and looked a wee bit scared.  Just kidding…he laughed and said he figured I needed it with 3 crazy kids and another one on the way!

8.  I’m really excited about some new items for my ETSY SHOP!  I’m really hoping to get them photographed so I can announce my SPRING BREAK SPECIAL while it is….you know…still spring break!

9.  I am offering Spring Mini Sessions in Kansas City on Saturday, April 10th for those who qualified at my Matilda Jane Party.  I still have a LIMITED number of openings if you are in the area and would like to take advantage of mini session pricing.  Email me with inquiries!

10.  Caught this cute snapshot of all three actually looking at the camera.  Never mind that A is holding the little guy back with all her force and appears to be choking him.  No children were actually harmed in the making of this snapshot   Man, my kids are cute.  I can say that, right?  Cause I’m their Mom and all

HAPPY TUESDAY!

Well the party with my sister had to end at some point.  I’m happy to report, though, that we did in fact get quite a bit accomplished and I will be offering some SPRING BREAK specials in my Etsy store later this week!  I can’t wait to show you what we worked on…and to tell you about some GREAT deals I will be offering…but that will have to be another day because I am pooped!

Ok…so it only took 5 months…but I FINALLY got around to finishing up the girls’ beds!

I found them on Craigs list for $10 each this fall and couldn’t resist them.  They were UGLY but I knew they had potential and the price was perfect.  Early this fall I sanded and primed them…then the weather turned cold and they sat in my garage for a few months.  I finally got tired of waiting for nice weather and asked Mr. P to bring them in and set them up for painting downstairs.  Except…even seeing them sitting there for a few weeks obviously wasn’t enough to motivate me to actually PAINT THEM!

After I finally got a few coats of paint on them I decided they were a little bland so I added some wood appliques.  I marked the center of each headboard and then used wood glue to attach them.  I clamped and taped them in place and let them cure for a few days (or maybe it was weeks…yeah…at least a few weeks).  Then I slapped on a few more coats of paint.  I think I did about 5 coats…they were like little paint suckers…crazy beds!  After they dried I roughed them up a bit with some light grit sand paper.  I have a thing for “abused” furniture…I don’t think we have a single piece in our house that isn’t dinged up or distressed

They are far from perfect…but good enough for my rough and tumble little girls.  I really shouldn’t have waited so long between the priming and painting.  And an oil based paint would have made for a nicer finish (I used a latex enamel from Sherwin Williams)…but overall they will serve our purpose.  And I think they make a cute addition to their new shared space and coordinate well with their existing furniture!

And speaking of furniture…I recently got the first thing for the NEW NURSERY!

I’ve been watching for a good dresser that could also serve as a changing table.  Our crib is antique white (not the most masculine choice…but Little Man hasn’t seemed too concerned yet) so this should coordinate nicely.  I’ll have to find some fun knobs once I know what direction to take that room.  The new nursery will be in J’s old room.  Right now it is a big PINK empty space that makes me a little sad every time I walk into it.  I would LOVE nothing more than to start decorating that room but I am still a bit apprehensive about doing a BOY ROOM when there is still a small chance we could get a girl.  I REALLY don’t want to go gender neutral because I know that will drive me crazy down the road.  The bedding I loved from Target online is gone   But I’m leaning towards THIS.  Or maybe I’ll make the bedding…hmm….too many choices!

I’ve just started collecting some great books to round out our library as well!  This is one of my FAVORITES!

The pictures in this one are absolutely ADORABLE!!  It is amazing to me how VERY few baby books are available in common stores that portray people with darker skin.  I’ve looked so many places and found VERY LITTLE to bring home…if anyone has any suggestions please send them my way!

Hope you are all enjoying some nicer weather then we have!  HAPPY SPRING = HUGE SNOW STORM here in Kansas City   Will the sun ever shine again??

Pardon my absence.  But The Librarian came to visit during spring break…and the sweat shop is in full throttle.

That’s not to say we aren’t having fun.

Mr. P has taken the week off from work to coral the kids.  But that didn’t stop a little someone from spending the morning in my studio (Like the drool?  I’m embarrassed to admit what time this photo was taken of him in his jammies!)

Or stop us from celebrating the Luck O’ the Irish!

Then we were right back to work.  (If you look hard enough you might catch a few sneak peaks  at items that will hit my Etsy store soon!)

A bit of sewing…lots of laughing…eating…life plotting…(I know you are checking out our cool tees and you want to purchase one don’t you?)

Did you know she’s near referral of her Peruvian Princess?  And you can support their adoption efforts by heading over to her blog “Fly to His Heart” to purchase a tee of your very own!

Our family has ours!

Gotta get back to work

Just a quick snapshot to show they turned out pretty cute!  Most of them stayed in all night too…and no complaints!  We took them out this morning and I just ran my fingers through the curls to separate them…they still had the curls tonight at bedtime!  (I took this photo late this afternoon)

I threw away the packaging…but for those who asked…I got them at TARGET.  They were in the hair doo-dad aisle near the infamous pink sponge rollers.  They came in a clear plastic bag.  They look like little white sponge strips…I think they were $9.99 for about 2 dozen of them (more than enough to style both girls hair!)