i want to have...

a mommy and me session contest!!!
(please feel free to share the link on Facebook, email, etc)
contest "rules"
there really are no rules. you can nominate your mom, grandma, friend or even yourself! don't be shy- all moms deserve to be recognized, even yourself! everyone has a story so please share the story of an amazing mommy that you know. to nominate please send me a brief paragraph about the person(s) you want to nominate along with the their name and information so that i can contact them if they are chosen.

what should be in the paragraph? how many little one(s) they have (and their children can be grown); and why you nominated them. why do they inspire you? what makes them special? this seriously can be a couple of sentences or if you write like me a short story. no story is too little, really it can be as simple as -- "this mommy helped raised her brothers and sisters"; or "she finished college while being a mommy"; or "she works full time and never misses a ____ practice/dinner". you get the idea. like i said EVERY mom deserves to be recognized!

please email entries to leilapiephotography@gmail.com

the entries need to be submitted by Friday, April 22nd at 6pm (PST). the nominated individual needs to live in orange county or willing to drive to orange county for the session. they need to be willing to be featured on the blog with their pictures from the session. it will be their personal decision if they want to share their story.

oh and last "rule" you (the nominator) must like LeilaPie Photography (click on direct link) on Facebook. for an additional entry share the link on your FB page. once you've shared the link on FB please leave a comment under this blog post or in your email to me. for another entry share this post on your blog and link back to this page. once you have done that please leave a comment under this post (or in your email to me) saying that you shared it on your blog and a link to your blog. that means you can earn up to 3 entries for the person you nominated! i know it's a shameless plug but this contest really is very easy and it is a way to get others to learn about it.

here is more exciting news! since i truly believe every mom that is nominated is deserving the winner will be randomly chosen therefore everyone has an equal chance of their nominee of winning. the winner will be announced on FB and contacted by April 26th.

what they will get
30 minute mommy and me session
on location of photographer's choice
1- 8x10
cd of 5 edited images of their choice from the session

and here is the best part! if the person you nominated is chosen you will also win a session. it is my way of thanking you for taking the time to recognize that special mom!
30 minute mommy and me session
on location of photographer's choice
1- 5x7
cd of 3 images of your choice from the session

and here is more exciting news i will be having

mommy and me sessions! $60 these are great presents
30 minute mommy and me session
on location on photographer's choice (trust me it is gorgeous)
*1 5x7
1 digital image of your choice (same as print) 

*if you nominated a mom you will receive an additional 5x7 as a thank you for taking the time to nominate someone special

who inspired me...

my mom of course but i wanted to tell you why, so please bear with me during this post.

i have really debated how much about my personal life i've wanted to reveal in this blog. sure i want you all to know who i am, about my family, what i do, and even some adventures i've been on; but i wondered if some things should stay personal. i have had an idea for the past couple of weeks and have been conflicted just how much i wanted to share- i know that it may reveal some hurtful things and may even hurt some people but this is the hard truth and sometimes the truth hurts. in an effort to protect my everyone i will NEVER use names. also some of you who read this have known me practically my whole life and NEVER knew this part of my life. so i finally decided for you to truly know who i am and why i came up with this idea i wanted to share my story.

as you know my name is lisa. i am a mom of two little ones and like any mom love them more than anything. for the past 9 years i have been teaching children with autism for a local orange county school district and truly love what i do. this year, after years of wanting to stay home with my little ones, my husband and i decided we would take the leap and have me stay home part time. most of you who read this blog, know me personally so you already know this fluffy stuff. so now i want to tell you where i came from....

my mom and dad married over 35 years ago. so for those of you who don't know my age go ahead and do the math (yes i am over 30). i would love to say that they are still happily married, but as most of you know not every marriage has a "happily everafter" ending. as a matter of fact i was the one who begged my mom to leave my father. why? well here we go...

my father was less than an amazing father, dad, heck even man for that matter. he was physically and emotionally abusive. he cheated during their marriage and was rarely around in my life. as a matter of fact i have not seen or heard from him in almost a year, which truly saddens me since my own little ones will not get to know one of their papas. but this post is not about my father but rather my amazing mom!

i am not sure when the abuse started but i do know that at least once while she was pregnant he hit her. six months after i was born we moved from sunny southern california to washington d.c. for my fathers work. so my mom packed up her life, left her family and traveled with her family to a new life. as all of us moms know raising a little one is hard enough but imagine living somewhere new with no family and friends for support and having to learn a new way of life (snow!). moving out there didn't make things any better, they only got worse. a few times my mom had to prepare us for tornadoes while my father was no where to be found.

eventually we moved back to california but this time to martinez (close to san fransisco). at one point my mom tried to leave and actually came home but was not welcomed by her family, since to my grandmother it was a disgrace to get a divorce. remember 25 years ago divorce was a taboo. later in life when i was old enough i remember hearing my grandmother say "well it takes two in a marriage" as if the cheating and abuse was also my mom's fault (but there is more to my grandmother's story and i truly love her unconditionally). my mom's parents were the typical "hispanic catholic family" and if you have ever read "divine secrets of the ya ya sisterhood" the grandmother/mother relationship really hit home.

it was some time in martinez that i started to figure out the cheating and remember telling some of the women who called to "leave my daddy alone". shortly after we move back to sunny southern california and settled in for good. i was getting older and the abuse was more evident to me. it was so bad that a doctor who was taking care of my mom said "take a gun and shot him". was it ethical of him to say? no! but after the years of abuse and the bruises he would treat he was tired of it! a few times i stepped in and once i got hit as a result. this is when my school stepped in, my grandparents took us both in, my dad left for good.

when he left my mom was there to pick up the pieces and my grandparents were there every step of the way (i told you i loved them unconditionally). she was there not only to pick up the emotional pieces but also the financial pieces. she sacrificed everyday to send me to St. Joseph's Catholic School in Placentia and to provide a normal life for me. every holiday had special touches: a cabbage patch for my Easter basket (i am sure you can guess what was at the end of the hunt); valentine candy trains, etc.

my mom has always been my rock. she has been my cheerleader in life and has never left my side. to honor all that she has done for me (and others) i want to pay it forward and give away a free mommy and me session!

xoxo
lisa