Looking for a MySpace Avatar? How about this Pic?

I mentioned not too long ago my concern about pictures of babies and children being taken from flickr accounts for use on the site Orkut (and goodness knows where else). Both Fickr and Orkut are run by Google. Think of Orkut as Google's version of MySpace (who knows...maybe by now Google owns MySpace as well!). Orkut is largely popular outside of the US. It is HUGE in Brazil. And as I mentioned in that previous post, there are a great number of people who create "fake" profiles on Orkut using portraits of kids and babies stolen from flickr. Weird, but true. For a long time I thought I might float relatively under-the-radar, but alas I finally received a flickr mail, from someone who's profile says they are a teenage girl, poorly translated from Portuguese (I'm guessing), asking for permission to use one of my girls' images.

hi :D
Hi I'm here to ask that you let me use their daughter as a model, her daughter is very beautiful and I do not want to use it without its approval, I will use it as a model for orkut fake. I am not sure of anything bad happened her.
Me authorizing use his daughter as a model?
Thank now.

Of course I responded with a resounding NO. The line "I am not sure of anything bad happened her" particularly freaked me out, although I'm confident this phrasing is a result of poor online translation software. She was probably trying to say "I will be sure nothing bad will happen to her" (or perhaps I'm just naive and delusional) but If you've got to state it, I guess that just means we're all aware of the frightening things that can happen online. Thankfully I realized that sarcasm does not usually translate well either (I wrote my return message in English thinking that many large "NO"s are part of a universal language we all speak). As a result, I left out the snarky comment "I am not sure of anything...you could be a 45 year old male pedophile." Needless to say, I am keeping an eye on my flickr stats and on Orkut.

In the meantime, this has me deliberating on the future of the blog. Words cannot even say how emotionally attached I am to this, and before I do anything, I plan on downloading a copy of my blog to blurb.com and having several books made of it. I've set all pictures of the girls that I haven't blogged about to "friends and family" permissions, but surprisingly I've blogged about almost everything in my photostream at this point. If I set all my pictures to have "friends and family" permissions they would disappear from the blog...so therein lies my quandry. I would hate to let some stolen pictures, or just the possibility of stolen pictures, stifle a form of expression I have grown to love over the past few years, but better safe than sorry. I am fully aware that when you place something online, you are making it available to the world, or at least the entire internet community, but I guess I'll need to give all of these weighted ponderings and questions some additional thought. Until then, I'll blog with pics directly from my computer...no more flickr for the time being.

Do you know what your words can do?

Found this on a forum, that sent me to a blog, where I watched this video of students at something called "Challenge Day." You guys probably know about this already, but I feel compelled to pass it on and want to be sure I remember this so I can share it with the girls someday. Be forewarned, I was reaching for the kleenex after less than 30 seconds of viewing.

On the Road Again!

Big Rig Day
Originally uploaded by epmdesigner

I was delighted to discover that Sweet Talk Boutique was recently featured on Cool Mom Picks! Since many of my Sugar Hiccups readers are cool moms who may not make it over to my business blog, I wanted to post the info here as well. In between nibbles, Cool Mom Liz managed to write a totally tasty post about our cookies!!!

I'm headed off to the National Stationery Show this week (hence the header...it goes so nicely with this picture of Leah at "Big Rig" day) to immerse myself in new trends in the stationery industry. And do a little visiting with family. Keep Pete in your thoughts and prayers. Let's hope he's still alive when I get back!!! It's obvious from this picture that Leah's in the driver's seat....

Happy Mother's Day to ME!!!!

Can you Smell what the Bear is Cookin'?
Originally uploaded by epmdesigner

...And to ALL you Moms out there. Besides being a terrific inspiration to me, many of the Moms I know (including my own) are the biggest and most enthusiastic fans of this blog. Keeping this blog, however much I've slacked lately, truly has been an integral part of my mothering experience. Sharing my joys and my struggles here has helped me better understand my thoughts and feelings on the subject AND it's allowed me to feel the incredible support and empathy of so many others. I am separated from some of those people by many miles, but when blogging or reading comments it does not feel like it. Ahhh, the wonders of the internet.

One of my favorite activities to do with the girls is cooking and baking. Our current specialties are homemade pizza (with sliced tomato and shredded zucchini hidden under LOTS of cheese and Italian seasoning), pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips or double chocolate muffins, and any and every type of cookie imaginable. The food generally comes out great, but our kitchen is ALWAYS a disaster afterwards. Lucky for me, Leah and Aislin are both outfitted (as well as Clare and Grammy) with coordinating aprons from Santa. But Mrs. Claus told me he had another Mompreneur, the lovely Deborah from chiccosas.com, make them. As you can see Leah enjoys licking the spoon, beater, or whatever else she can get her hot, little hands on. And I like creating memories with the girls, as sappy as that might sound. They will only be little for so long.

When I'm not busy with the girls, I love nurturing my other baby (the business) and supporting and working with other Moms who own their own businesses too. If you haven't already, check out my blog post on another great Mom and business owner, Lilie from A Planet 4 Creation at my other blog Design Is Everwhere. She even included a discount code and bonus for my readers. If you are not full after that, and love weddings as much as I do, more importantly...wedding cake...check out the most recent blog post by my Sweet Talk partner Jen at She Takes The Cake's Blog. Jen is yet another Mom and friend who regularly inspires and assists me in my own mothering and entrepreneurial journey. You'd be surprised at how much mothering and entrepreneurship have in common!

Thank you to Pete, who's hard work and support gives me the chance to stay at home with my kids, which is something I adore (even if it doesn't always sound like it. I'm looking at you Jen, K, Dev, Nic, Cyn, Marisa, and anyone else who has regular phone conversations with me! Thank you to my own Mom and Mother-in-Law who daily provide me with an example of what it means to be an amazing mother. And thank you most of all to my daughters. I am blessed to be the person who holds you when you're sick, wipes away your tears, high-fives your achievements, hears all your giggles and songs, and hugs you when you need it. I love you Leah and Aislin.

Spring tea party

Spring tea party
Originally uploaded by epmdesigner

We took this shot last month at my friend Shannon's Annual Spring Tea. As you can see, Leah had a very ladylike time and all of the women in attendance were enthralled with her little plaid jumper and matching cape (thanks you Irish Herrera girls!).

Leah is now very much about ALL things girly these days. Tea parties included. From princesses to unicorns, rainbows to sparkly nail polish...she loves it all. We've been reading the book "Fancy Nancy" from the library and it's been a big hit. Aislin on the other hand is into all things gorilla. Her favorite bedtime stories are currently "Goodnight Gorilla" and "Little Gorilla." We went to visit the Nowak/Moore clan this weekend and we were sure not to leave home without either one.

Alright, Pete's yelling at me now for being up too late. Better go, he's got a point. I just had to share this one with all of you! Enjoy.