New Pinup Work!

Hello universe!

I just got some new pinup work back from last year, and I thought I'd share!

It's nice to see my pre-baby body... I need to get back into pre-twins shape!

Model/MUA: Shana Nicole 

Hair: Timebomb Tina

Photography: Varga Photography

Dress: Pinup Girl Clothing

One of my favorite "types" of pinup work is CARS. I love posing with automobiles... so when I have a new one to share, I can't resist!

Model/MUA: Shana Nicole 

Hair: Timebomb Tina

Photography: Varga Photography

Dress: Pinup Girl Clothing

Anyway, I just thought I'd share some new work! The babies hit six months last week, and life is finally starting to even out. Praise 8 lb, 6 oz baby Jesus in his golden fleece diaper!

If you want to see more of this work, I'll be posting it on instagram! Follow me: @shananicole_official.

Anyways, back to making bottles!

--Shana

Life=Chaos

Well, I fully intended on being better about updating this... however, life with twins is

SHEER CHAOS.

I'm still learning how to function properly. It's definitely not from a lack of wanting to.

As I complete all the final details to make this site "complete", allow me to update you with the latest from my nest.

Twin newborns do not sleep much.

Our cute carbon-copies. 

But they sure are cute, aren't they? Sophie is looking more and more like her dad, and Hudson is the spitting image of my brother, Derek, and me. It's hilarious that we have carbon copies of ourselves in the opposite gender!

Sophie, posing in her sleep.

Hudson is un-bear-ably cute as a cub. Ha.

Anyways, I'm surviving. I managed to get my hair done-- a huge victory after nearly a year of "no hair dye on the scalp".  I've left the house a few times, but mostly, we're under "house arrest". The twins are unable to be in public until June.

Yes, you read that correctly--JUNE.  We can't afford to risk the pertussis outbreak right now with their little preemie lungs. So home we stay!

Now, Mom's tired and has a bottle feeding coming up here real soon. I'll get this bad-boy "fully operational" soon!

Introducing Sophie and Hudson...

They're here!

I never intended on giving birth as early as I did-- but on Friday, December 9th, the twins took matters into their own hands.

I went into "testing", as they call it at the hospital, because my abdomen felt tender-- and they told me it was better to be safe than sorry. I fully expected to be hooked up to some monitors and sent home. (So much so, I didn't even have my husband take me to the hospital. I was taking myself, alone, until my mother insisted she go with me.)

Well, guess what? I was in active labor. That tenderness? I had been having contractions for a while. And just like that, my life changed forever. Jacob rushed to the hospital (at a questionable rate of speed), and within two hours, my babies were in my arms.

My water would have most likely broken that evening, but due to medical issues I have, I wasn't able to birth naturally. A c-section was the safest option for all three of us-- so I was whisked away for prep, and at 10:35 p.m., both of my angels were born.

We did not know the genders of our twins for the entirety of the pregnancy. Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep from knowing for 36 weeks?

Being clueless made the birth so much more exciting. The moment they came... I heard, "It's a girl!" as Sophia (Baby A) was brought around to my left side. Then, Hudson (Baby B) was flung over the divider with the doctor shouting, "It's a boy!"

In an instant, I had a daughter AND a son, and my life was complete.

Baby A: Sophia Wren (Sophie)
5 lbs, 8 oz
18 1/2"

Baby B: Hudson Grey
5 lbs, 15 oz
19"

Life, since their arrival, has been a whirlwind. I'm learning how to "mom", and the goal each day is to keep the tiny humans alive.

The next update will be their newborn photographs, as we keep our heads above water!

I'm almost too blessed to be stressed... almost.

Maternity Photos...

Since getting pregnant, my life seems as though it's been a whirlwind... and that's both good and bad. I wish it would slow down a little-- but I also want to meet my babies, so I also wish it would speed up.

Real problems, people.

Anyways, I never knew if I'd actually be able to become a mother. There's a story there (to be told another time)... but motherhood was always in question for me. My twins are the results of prayers, miracles, and really smart doctors. Since this will be my one and only pregnancy, I made sure it was documented.  A lot.

My first shoot was with one of my dearest, best friends-- Charlie, of "Charlie Girl Photography". She's a photographer in Fort Worth, and to say she is multi-talented is an understatement. Long-distance friendships are so hard, but she's worth it. Besides being one of my best friends, I'm also her makeup artist and work in the glamour/pinup/vintage industry with her. A lot of the adventures I find in life are with her.

When it came time for maternity photos, she made sure they were nothing like the "standard" maternity pictures I wanted to avoid. I wanted something completely different from the average studio setting.

We created fairytales!

We shot at sunset for a really "bohemian" feel... complete with flower-draped tent in the background.

 We braved poison oak to create coral-daydreams and cotton candy skies.

 She also patiently walked with me (while I waddled) deep into nature, so she could turn me into Little Red Riding Hood.

And finally, I became a lacy princess in the trees in the early morning hours. I don't think I've ever been so tired from shooting... but then again, I've never shot while so pregnant!

I'm so glad she captured these. There will probably be more to come, but it's been hard to sit down and pick more favorites from nearly two-thousand raw images.

The last time I shot with Charlie, I was about 2-3 weeks pregnant and didn't even know it! It was, of course, one of my usual pin-up shoots-- and so that one has special meaning to me, as well.

I still had pretty dresses to shoot in, and wanted to do some at home (in Houston) on the beach with an even BIGGER belly... before it got "twin-ugly".

You know what I'm talking about. There's a point where it's no longer pretty, carrying two babies. Where you can't walk well, and going to the restroom feels like you just competed in the Olympics.

Essentially, that's where I'm at today. Thank goodness I've already shot my second session. LOL!

My second shoot was with Casey of "Three Little Chickadees Photography", a local photographer from my hometown. We shot in Galveston at sunset one day, before I got too far along...

My running joke on this is, "Listens to Lana Del Rey Once; gets pregnant..."

All kidding aside, it's so pretty! I love that she captured Galveston NOT looking like Galveston.

I also shot in a mint green dress-- my favorite color-- but with the wind from the ocean, it didn't like to cooperate the way I wanted it to.  Still beautiful!

It's not often you get to wear a long, fabulous gown on a beach in the water. Actually... yeah, I never do that. This was a first, even for me.

I always joke that I'm a mermaid at heart... so being near the water in my pictures was really important to me. Even though it made it an all-day process, I'm so glad to have had my feet in the sand for these images.

And yes... In case you were wondering, I made all of my flower crowns. I'm a little obsessed. My children will forgive me one day.

I'm posting these images, knowing that my babies are getting really close to making their grand entrance! I'll be 33 weeks along in a day or two, and the average set of twins are born at week 35. Let's say a prayer they stay in! My goal is to keep them safe and in utero until December 13th... I want the happiest, healthiest spawn possible (and that's the magic date).

Pregnancy has been the craziest journey... but I wouldn't trade the wild ride for anything.


Click here for more information on Charlie Girl Photography!

Click here for more information on Three Little Chickadees Photography!

Welcome to my Nest!

Greetings everyone... allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Shana-- well, my nickname is Birdie, actually. Even just "Bird" sometimes. I have many nicknames, but Birdie is probably my favorite. 

I'm a jill-of-all-trades, and enjoy dabbling in this and that, keeping myself busier than I ever intend to. That's where the name of this blog comes from, after all... I'm a very, very busy birdie.

A lot of my heritage is Native American, and in the Native American culture, you become what you are named. Ironically, "Shana" means "little bird"-- and that's exactly what I am.

I chirp incessantly. I'm a magpie, attracted to shiny things. I flutter from place to place and subject to subject. My house is my nest, and I am a nester. I collect things. I have A.D.D.... the fact that I've gotten this far into an introduction is actually incredible.

(I may or may not have stopped and came back a few times during the creation of this post.  A.D.D. is the spice of life, after all.)

I'm married to a wonderful man named Jake, and am currently pregnant with TWINS! It's a new chapter in my life... a book with many diverse chapters already written.  I've been a waitress, a reporter, a teacher, worked in radio, and had an accounting job. I'm a hustler at heart, and have a combination of "side jobs" now... I'm a makeup artist, a pinup girl, a plus-size model, a rhinestoner, an independent Scentsy consultant, a crafter, a baker, an amateur photographer, and I also own my own vintage-inspired international pinup magazine.

But I think the best job yet is coming soon-- "twin mom".

I decided it's time to document my life, and put some of this creative energy to good use.  So welcome to my entire life on one website-- where all of the insanity is conveniently located in one place.