Gummi Worms in the Grass

Fun shots of the day....

I came home from a shoot last weekend and caught Maia with my camera laying in the grass eating gummi worms. Priceless photos which I love. 100% my girl :)




And then I joined her :)

Sharing some photo love . .

These are two separate photos that almost work as one. I didn't even realize till I uploaded them here!

..my favorite kitty, Millie, who we got the year we were married, so showing this one only seems right, eh? :c) She's been a part of our marriage the entire time. Wow. I mean, meow. ;)

Playin' around.

What we're seeing lots of. Ewww. They are pretty colors and they're here for a reason, but unfortunately they're not too kind to the flowers and plants they land on, and they are all over my sunflowers!

Noah got his first big-boy bike a few weeks ago. He loves it. It won't be long until the training wheels come off. Then I'll really probably cry. The kids growing up is happening way too fast...

A cute picture of Erin. She made some killer martinis that night! :) I miss you, Erin!!

A couple favorite shots from my second-to-last wedding.

This one deserves a spot on Wordless Wednesday, and it is Wednesday, but it just can't be "wordless". The explanation is this... Sometimes Maia likes to read by herself after we read to her. The other night my husband said, "you have to see this", and I asked him if I needed my camera and he said "probably". (I knew that meant "yes".) This is what we found (Erin was with me). We could NOT stop laughing! Definitely a Kodak moment :c)

Happy 4th of July!

Maia and her first kitten

At the end of Noah's school year this year, all the pre-school classes and the kindergarten class visited one of the teacher's farms. What an amazing farm it was, too. I think I had just as much fun (but probably more fun, hehe) as the kids. I was in heaven :) We played with dogs, puppies, cows, horses, roosters (just watched those as they aren't nice animals!), and goats. We also played with a litter of kittens.

I grew up on a farm so we had litters upon litters of kittens every year. They were always a part of my "family" and I could probably name all 100 of them over my 16 years still today :c) Because of that, it was incredibly special for me to see Maia have her first experience seeing, and then holding, a kitten. Love is written all over her face while the kitten's face clearly reads panic :c)

Happy Love Thursday!

Hair catastrophe . . . with a happy ending

Before:


Our hair event went fine. I never imagined it would, but it did. I also prayed a lot going into it :c)

First of all, I was so scared Maia would fall asleep on our 30 minute drive to the hair place, but I was able to keep her awake. Falling asleep would mean a very cranky uncooperative child when we got there, as most of you can relate.

Then I was afraid Maia would not sit in the chair. My darling Heather went with us, and Maia wanted to sit on her lap. That worked out well and I am being completely honest when I say that my child did not move an inch. She sat there like a princess completely still, moving her head in the directions Kim asked her to, everything.

My 2-year old was a princess! I still can't hardly believe it because I was going into it pretty negatively thinking it would be a total waste of time. It was all good. I couldn't have been more proud of her!!

Going into the cut, Kim said, "what's more important to you? Keeping the length even or the length itself?" I thought about it for a second and said "probably the length itself".

I honestly did not want it cut up to her ears. She was born with long hair and I wanted it to stay long. It was hard for me to imagine her with short hair. Neil was actually more against her having short hair than I was. I think he was frightened he'd come home and she'd look like a boy. (He's out in Salt Lake City right now.) He kept saying "please let Kim decide what's best". He didn't trust me!! (ha!)

I honestly never imagined Kim could cut it, allow it to stay long and it still look decent. While it's definitely far from perfect because there's just no way to perfect the way Noah chopped her hair without cutting it all the way off, Kim did do a great job just making it look presentable. It's still noticeably got some chunks missing, but at least I can still put barrettes in it and pony tails. (All that really matters right?!) I am soooo very thankful for that. And I know it's "just hair" but at the same time "it's hair". I love hair, I love Maia's hair, hair expresses (I believe) so much. I just wasn't taking any of this hair ordeal very well.

I got a few snaps at the salon along with a before and after. Here's a before and here's an after!


You can see the salon ones and a few others here.

Thank you for the support with the emails and phone calls in relation to the hair catastrophe. It definitely had a good ending.

Gone today, gone tomorrow.

Well, it happened.

I was sitting 10 minutes ago in my office working. I thought Neil was watching the kids. Boy was I wrong.

Maia comes into my office saying "mommy, Noah cut my hair!". Yep, it's cut. Yep, I lost it. Yep, I can't stop crying.

I know this happens to every little girl with hair at some point. But it was her brother, almost 5, who did it. HE KNOWS BETTER. And he KNEW he had done wrong because he was hiding under a blanket. I'm beside myself. And I absolutely totally know it's not the end of the world. I know that. But you know how long Maia's hair was and tomorrow it's going to have be all cut off. Tomorrow it's going to be all gone. And it just makes me sick to my stomach. So sick.

Make me feel better while I go cry some more. No amount of Matt Damon or Joel McHale is going to make this mommy feel better. I just need some hugs and some tissues passed to me please. And lots of them.

Southern Belles & Prairieland Girls

It was my dear friend, Jen's, little girls 2nd birthday last week. And I missed being a part of that celebration. Addison Jayne is 6 months to the day younger than Maia. I so wish I could have been there with her as Jen threw Addy her 2nd birthday party. I miss them both so much and Maia misses the friend she's not really ever gotten to know (or wait, I guess it's mommy who is sad because she's never really gotten to know her). But being she was hundreds of miles away down yonder in Hattiesburg, MS, well, it was kinda hard to make that trek. I cried when I saw the pictures on Jen's blog of Addison's birthday. It is so hard to see your friends move away. It's so hard to see their children grow up so fast. So hard. I miss them direly. Jen is one of those true friends who no matter the time or distance, will always be that same amazing wonderful friend. And that is a blessing.

Wanna hear some spectacular news?! No more tears welled up in my eyes! FRIDAY I GET TO SING ADDISON HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN PERSON. Addy and Jen are coming HOME!!!!!!!!!! Friday Jen and Addy are making their way here and they're staying all night with us! You know why this is more than very exciting? Because I remember when I had to say goodbye to Jen and I asked when she'd be back and she said "I'll probably never be back here, Val."

Saturday we're spending our day uptown here. Maia gets to play with Addy (Addy was just a couple months old when they moved) and Jen and I get to play catch up. It's going to be the best 24 hours in a long long time. But, only 24 hours. Wahh. I have to make the most of it.

So much to do, so little time. So why am I online? Because writing about it helps me get my bearings straight. It's like talking out loud to a friend. I need to clean clean clean and make some food . . . a cake maybe for Addy? I thought I'd have some fresh fruit and muffins for them . . . but I don't know if we're doing dinner out or not, so I'm not sure whether to plan for any big meals. Hmmmm . . . I went and bought some new pillows for the girls sleep on. They'll be staying in Noah's room in his bed. (We'll move Noah downstairs.) There won't be any big room transformations like what my amazing fabulous designer friend did for her guest, but at least I have a real bed for them and not a couch or mattress on the floor (*wink, Erin*). Oh, I just remembered, I do need to go out and get some tequila. Margaritas are Jen's fave. I'm sure we'll need one or two of those. ;c)

Anyway, obviously I need to get my derriere in gear. I have a brand new newborn shoot tonight which I am so excited about, so I need to concentrate on preparing for that the rest of the morning. So then I will only have about a day to prepare for my dear friend's arrival. Wish me luck. I want to give them a great impression of Illinois again so maybe they'll . . . move back??? Hopefully I can come up with something better than fresh crawfish and the ocean breeze. :c)

Wordless Wednesday ~ Running Into Springtime

My baby girl (who is no longer a baby) is running into her 3rd spring as quickly as she can looking for new discoveries and adventures all around her. It's exciting for mommy, but at the same time, so bittersweet. They grow up so fast . . .

One more thing . . .

I just found this picture at Chel's blog . . . a picture that I don't have and can't live without showing off. It's me and my baby girl with my new precious baby niece, Adelaide. I love this picture. Thanks, Chel! We miss you incredibly.

How to be a professional photographer . . . just like Barbie

First of all, you must look like you're going out on the town. Highlight your hair, pull it back, wear a cute short skirt, tight shirt, and make sure you have worked your buns off to have the best toned body you've ever had and a waist the size of a Dolly Parton (well, or Barbie . . . hehe).

Also, make sure you wear your highest, most uncomfortable heels.

Set up your subject; in this case, triplets. (You know, Barbie can take on anything and everyone, especially when she looks pretty!)

Make sure your camera is at a perfect distance away so that your images will be full-frame.

Tripod needs to be at a good height so not to strain arms or legs. It's okay for the subjects to be uncomfortable, but not the photographer, and especially not Barbie.

It's very important that your camera is centered on your subject(s).

Put the headpiece back on the baby who just threw it off.

Walk to camera.

Photographer (especially Barbie) must stretch arms so not to tire them.

Barbie's subjects should look their best, but Barbie's looks must be up to perfection before any shooting can begin.

Start shooting! If you followed these steps, you should have beautiful pictures, but if not, at least you looked good shooting them. That is ultimately what matters most.



:c)
The End.

Tinkle Star

"tinkle star, what you are . . . tinkle star, what you are . . . " over and over . . . that's what I'm hearing right now, and it's so adorable I couldn't resist sharing.

"Trail Mix" part 2

{I guess I have a lot of updating to do since I have been without frequent updating for so long . . . ha!}

• This weekend we put up a gallery on our wall coming up the stairs. It looks cool. I'm really happy with it. I uploaded pics to flickr. Tell me what you think! (Erin, did we do okay?)

• We also cleaned out the garage this weekend. First time doing so. And when I say clean, I mean we literally took everything out and scrubbed the floor. Looks like sparkly perfection. (Not really, but tons tons better than it did a week ago.)

• Two days ago I got really frustrated with how scraggly Maia's hair looked and since she has only had 1 haircut ever, guess what I did?! I cut her hair myself and I have to say, it looks pretty good for my first time. It's still piggy-tail doable, don't worry!(More also on flickr.)
  

• Earlier in the summer I went to my "adopted" grandmother's estate sale. As you know, I won (yay!) one of her beautiful old upholstered chairs. I also won an antique "brownie" camera. Then I bid on some other boxes . . . where i wasn't sure exactly what was in them, but I knew I wanted them. And so I took a few pictures of my finds. I'm so excited about it all because they were things of hers, but also because I think some of things are pretty rare. For instance, there was a Newsweek from when Reagan was shot, a copy of "The Grapes of Wrath" from the early 1900's, and then some storybooks which were of some ladies from my hometown who could have been grandmothers to Marie (my adopted grandma), so they date from the middle 1800's. I also have Marie's Home Economics textbook which has recipes in it and little notes in her handwriting. She doodled all through it and would write notes like "very good", etc. beside favorite recipes. There are also pictures of women cooking in this book over old stoves probably in the 30's? I'm so excited I have these things. I have a few showcased in my dining room hutch. Check out the pictures which I uploaded to flickr. There aren't a lot of pics, but a few.

• While Erin was here we went shopping. I mean, how could we not?! We adore all the same things, dress alike, decorate alike . . . and she came across some fabulous ceramic vases which she just knew would look great in my (still being transformed into) VWC "presentation room". So I bought them. 3 of them. Plus a little suitcase thingie and she bought me a bowl. Looks awesome! I have some pictures of Erin "Vanna White-ing" off our finds on flickr which you must go see (if you haven't gone there yet).

• An old friend and I just got reconnected through facebook.com (I love that place and it's sooo addicting!). Right about when her daughter was born, she started up an online scrap booking store. It's really awesome and I'm very proud of her. I know how hard it is to keep a small business going, so I wanted to give her a little plug. Please check it out. She has some really cool things (even though I don't scrapbook) and I looked on her sale page and from what I know about scrapping, her sales are a must to check out!

• I forgot to mention last week that the first day Erin was here, she gave me a fun "thanks for having me gift". Which I think was more of a "R&R" gift for after the day full of parties. Inside the cute paisley turquoise bag were some coasters that she made herself (she's very creative, ya know? -- I love them!), a candle, body cream, leg gel (for my tired legs), lots of yummy Canadian chocolate that we don't have here (which is better than most chocolate we have here!), and my very favorite . . . TWO bags of ketchup chips. Oh my gosh, I love those things!!! (Unfortunately, so do my kids. Thankfully, Neil does not, which means I get his portions.)

• We did trick-or-treating tonight and the kids had a blast! Maia was way way more into than Noah EVER was at this age. And Noah had a really great time. He went on his own up to houses and said "trick or treat" which is really big for him; he's really really shy. Anyway, O'ma came over to see the kids and walk around with us. Then we went to dinner. It was nice. We had a really good time. I'll post pics another day. Happy Halloween!!!

The good and the very bad

The good news is what is getting me through today.

Maia has gone over a week without her pacifier. She asked for her "assi" once yesterday and that was the only time in a whole week. It pretty much happened overnight without any trouble whatsoever. That's how it was with Noah, too. I only wish potty training would be that easy.

She pooped on the potty today. She told me! And she pee-peed twice. (Yay!) But she easily forgets. She was sitting on my lap when all of the sudden I felt something warm. I didn't even think twice about it (I thought it was just her warm bum sitting on my lap) until I noticed I was sitting in a pool. Gross. So, back into a diaper we went. It takes time. And I'm glad we've came this far. But the pacifier thing makes me really really happy. Especially because of this news that makes me want to vomit.

Bad news is this. I think I lost 5 client's photographs. Makes me want to throw up. I probably will if I don't find them. I've searched the 3 cards that I thought they were on. I even bought a $200 recovery program to find them. To no avail. And it makes me sick. I still have 3 cards to check but I am 99% sure they are not on there. I do not hardly ever use those cards anymore. They are 2 GB and very slow. I usually use my fast 4.0 GB cards. I really really want to throw up. I've even had the thought of leaving town. I do not want to face these people. (What will I say? I don't even think I could face them without crying. It is just that upsetting to me. And one was a maternity session in which my client had the baby.) This is bad. Very bad. And I need prayers. Please. Please. Please. I hope this isn't a selfish plea. But I need a miracle.

There are not many times I hate my job, but today I do. With a vengeance.

Missy-Poo, I love you!

My baby girl . . . she is a year older today. She is 2.

So many things are reminding me of 2 and 4 years ago, when I was pregant with my little dootles. Not just the fact that it's the week they were born, but because so many of my friends are having their babies or announcing their pregnancies or coming around me with their big ol beautiful bellies.

It's bittersweet because I absolutely loved being pregnant. I loved the kicks that I felt, even the ones that kept me awake at night, and believe it or not, those kicks never ever kept me from sleeping. I slept very well during my pregnancies (except towards the end, of course) and those kicks were theapeutic for me. They kept my heart and soul from worries . . . kept me knowing that my babies were okay. If my babies hadn't kicked and hiccuped like they did inside my belly, I would have gone ballistic.

I loved how I looked being pregnant. I loved being able to show off my belly because for once I felt it was beautiful. I loved the glow I had. I loved how my hair and skin and fingernails were stronger and more radiant. I loved that I got boobs.
Me, about to have my baby, and Jen, 6 months (exactly) behind me, pregnant and beautiful.

Of course there were things that I hated, like the high blood pressure (I was pre-eclampsic with Noah) in both pregnancies, the sciatic nerve pain, the weight gain (over 45 lbs with both my kids!) and my forgetfulness (like forgetting to take the pump nozzle out of my gas tank, then driving away and pulling the hose off the pump and driving over it --- yes, I did that), but I dealt with those things just fine. I love love loved being pregnant. I'd do it again. But I can't. Doctors orders.

So my birth, with Maia, not easy either. I had a doula (Leann, my angel and my forever friend!) and she was amazing. She helped get me through 31 (yes, 31) hours of labor. I went overnight with labor and could have gone into another night, but after a sonogram shortly after my epidural, it showed that probably nothing was going to get Maia's head engaged. She wanted to come out and her heart rate was going down. After 31 hours she was getting tired and I was getting tired. So we (all together) decided to take her by c-section before it became a true emergency again like it was with Mr. Noah.

I was awake this time. Of course my arms were strapped down and what I remember most is that feeling of having to throw up and feeling so very hot and sweaty because of the anesthesia. I remember the nurses saying "go ahead and throw up", but I couldn't. I remember Neil sitting behind my head. I remember the doctor saying "look at that hair" and I remember the nurses all guessing her weight before they pulled her out. (They were guessing 9 lbs and the doctor guessed 8 lbs 13 oz. She ended up being 8 lbs 3 oz.) I remember them bringing my baby girl to me and showing her to me. I could not hold her. I could not see her being cleaned off. I had to go down into recovery. So again, my birth experience sucked, but what could I do? At least she came safely to us and what I did experience was 1,000 times better than what I experienced with Noah.

But then I still didn't get to hold her for 2 whole days. Can you imagine? It was really rough. So she remained nameless for 2 days also. They thought she had a severe heart defect. After numerous tests with doctors in Peoria, they found that she has a boot-shaped heart, but nothing that will affect her -- we hope and pray. So they took her off oxygen and the feeding tubes and the heart monitors and we finally, finally, got to hold her.The closest photographic memory I have of either of my children being cleaned up after birth. Then she gets swiped away to Level II :(

And now today, all that is just a memory, but a very strong memory. Another one to make me, and our family, stronger. And future memories I have I hope will be even stronger. She is my 2nd little miracle. She is my baby girl. She is my princess. I love her more than words can say. And today, I wish her a very happy 2nd birthday. I am just amazed at what we have been through to get our children, but I'm even more amazed . . . incredibly blessed . . .just to have them here. It's all been a miracle.

Love you, Missy-Poo. Happy Birthday!

Baby Maia and mommy with grandpa. He passed 1 year ago. We really really miss him.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Better late than never . . .

Last Friday was this mommy's very first ever field trip; and as a chaperone. It was really fun but I have to say I won't volunteer for one of those again for a while ;c)

There were so so so many people there -- we went to a pumpkin patch with hundreds of other kids doing the same thing -- so our kids, being some of the smallest, kinda just blended in. It was hard keeping track of them and having had Maia with us, it made it even more hectic. Bless my friend, Nikki, who went as a chaperone with her 8-month old daughter and 2-year old son! We did have a great time, though, especially Noah and Maia. The kids (all of them) were so so so good and the day was perfect for them.

The best thing for me was seeing my son interact with his friends. He is definitely a follower and was almost always at the back of the pack of boys, but was always willing to keep up and always had a big smile on his face doing so. I can still hear him saying "wait for me, guys!!". It was so sweet! And to see him run through the patch in search of the perfect pumpkin, that was so memorable, too. He'd say "Look at this one, guys!". He is just the proudest little guy and has such a big heart for his friends. As a mother, you love to see that. It just grabs at my heart.

And then there was Maia. She was at the very end of the pack as a straggler. She so wants to be in preschool like her big brother. She calls all the other kids her "friends" (however, it sounds like "fends"). She and her little boyfriend, Isaac, who is also (just turned) 2, had the very best time trying to keep up with the fun, very busy, inquisitive preschoolers.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Here's to many more chaperoning trips ~ I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing??This will be one of my favorite memories. Watching him run and run and run. The pumpkin fields seemed to be endless and were like Heaven on Earth for a child who loves to run and explore.

Wordless Wednesday . . . TRULY wordless

Orthopedic Surgeon

Sooooooo . . . today not only was our 8th wedding anniversary (8 years ago we were married on the hottest day of the year in Illinois at 97 degrees and almost 100% humidity, 300 wedding guests and NO AIR CONDITIONING in the church --- groan! --- yep, you got that right!), but it was also Maia's leg appointment with the Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon. We saw two doctors and we really loved them both. But Dr. G was the BEST. Probably one of the many reasons why people travel from all over to see him and why it takes 2-1/2 months to get in to see him.

Maia did some walking for him. He checked out her feet and legs extensively by touch, and he did lots of leg turning, prodding and twisting. He could tell just by looking at her legs while she was sitting on my lap that her left foot "went in". His diagnosis is, her left leg tibia is growing inward, but only at a 10% difference. Her toes turn inward, but he said that usually isn't a problem like when a person's toes turn outward.

He also said that her hips are a little out-of-whack. She sits in a "W" position all the time. Rarely does she sit like everyone else, with the legs in front or in an Indian-style position.

He called them both problems, but also both things that she will probably forever be able to live with. He said as long as she doesn't seem to be in pain (and she's not), then he isn't concerned at all. He said she might fall more than other kids (because of her tripping over that left leg) but that it doesn't bother him if it doesn't bother her or us. He also said the "W" sitting is something usually inherited from mom or dad - double-jointness or extra flexibility and limberness. If it's a genetic thing, she definitely got it from me and not Neil. Who knows, maybe she'll be the next famous ballet dancer, gymnast or trapeze artist?! HA! (Hoping not the latter!)

So we are happy. Very happy. Last time we were in there, I was standing in tears. Today I was standing in smiles.

And an interesting thing he did point out. He said in the 80's a doctor probably would have put her immediately in leg braces. But through lots of test and evaluations, they have discovered that leg braces do not help any more than no leg braces at all. He said they are basically a thing of the past because they haven't been proven to be any help at all in leg problems like hers (even worser cases).

So, we're home, having had no x-rays, and quite happy. Maia is napping and we're hoping Noah falls asleep too because we're all very tired. I don't think we slept well at all last night and today was just a lonnnng day.

Thanks so much for your prayers. I know that we've had so many. xoxo

Asian, vintage or both?

Oh . . . Amanda. She did it again. (See her comments from my previous post.) She has now made me think more and put my creative juices to work. At least my my mind's eye brain.

Amanda sent me a link at kukunest for children's bedding and they have the most adorable little girl decor ever. I love the boys stuff also, but their things only come in twin and we hope to move Noah out of his toddler bed into a full, which is what his convertible bed goes into. I'm still leaning towards the "Arrrrr" pirates! because they're just so cute and boy-ie.

So my two faves that I am now leaning towards are the Lantern Festival and Around the World. I really really like both and think they both fit my Little Miss's personality.

But, I'm totally into vintage things as well, which is what her bedroom is now. Vintage-y, chenille-y and a bit shabby chic. Here are some pictures:



I would really like to be able to use her current rug in the new room. Do you think it would work for either of these cute-sie rooms above at kukunest?

Here is what her room did look like as of earlier today before I took it down. (*tiny tear)

This rug is actually darker than what it appears here. It looks more like the colors in the rug in the above picture. I also wanted to note that the twin bed in her room was for mommy or daddy for middle-of-the-night wakings when she was tiny, but that bed is still in there, not to confuse anyone or anything!

So I want you to be honest. Will my vintage-y decor fit in one of these rooms? Most of the things for her room are things from my past and my moms (vintage dresses, toys, pictures), and then there is that rug, which isn't actually a vintage piece, but it's big and is an expensive rug, although I got a great deal on it at their outlet (from Land of Nod, one of my very favorite stores ever). I love vintage, but I also love different and modern. I'm really just 100% eclectic, yet I still like to match.

If I go this route (kukunest), I am thinking bright walls like red and bright pink. I love to paint, so once I pick the theme, I can then pick the colors and then get my wall ideations going! :c)

Thanks for your help!

Wordless Wednesday ~ I love you, cousin