and we missed it...

I am one of the hostesses of a shower tomorrow. I offered my house as the "venue." HA! So needless to say, I've been cleaning/organizing for a week now. Not all day, everyday, just a little here and there so it wouldn't be such a huge thing to get everything cleaned before tomorrow. It's still a huge thing, even though I worked a little all week.

Today, instead of yelling at the kids all day because they were dragging things out that I just put up, I asked Nana to come get them so they could have a slumber party at her house. They have been doing well there, which I'm not surprised about, and they have had fun playing with cousins. I got a call tonight asking about meds for runny noses and such, but also got some other exciting news. While Papaw and Grey were hanging out in the living room and playing with the infamous cat, Woody, Grey took his first steps. He has become a champ at standing up without holding on to anything for support, and I've done the dive bomb test a couple of times to see how close he was to walking. The last time I did the "dive bomb" test was only a few days ago and he actually reached for the ground multiple times. That usually means they are very close to walking. Today, Papaw came into the kitchen and asked Nana, "When did Grey start walking?" She of course said, "He hasn't yet..." He said, "Well, he just took three steps in the living room trying to get Woody." And there you have it...our son's firsts steps, and we missed it. Bittersweet.

Diagnosis.

I've decided that Anna, along with most kids her age (I think), have a few mental problems.
Diagnosis #1: Anna is Bipolar. One minute she is great and happy, the next she is making her angry face and telling that she is very mad at me for whatever reason, the next minute she is dancing like a maniac in the living room asking me to dance with her.
Diagnosis #2: Anna is a compulsive liar. She knows what she's supposed to be doing, and knows what she is supposed to say, but instead does or tells me the complete opposite of that.
Diagnosis #3: Anna has O.C.D. If you sit down with her for a tea party or for dinner (pretend dinner), she must be control of everything. She must choose the correct plate, napkin, spoon, fork, and cut that you will use. It doesn't matter if they are all the same, she must choose. She'll choose the blue cup and the blue plate because the match exactly and if you say you want something different, it's like telling her something horrendous. She also wants to be in complete control of Grey's discipline, and makes sure to tell me if I'm doing something wrong in that area.

MOORE proof.

Here is a shot we got from the workshop last week! I'm SO glad we got one with everyone in it. This was taken in Kelly's living room where we all sat around and talked and asked questions. It really way amazing and encouraging. I learned SO much and met some great girls in the process.

From right to left: Me, Abigail, Jona, Sharon, (above) Kelly!, Jennifer, Tammy, Clair, and Ashley.

OH! And I just checked, Kelly put THIS shot on HER infamous blog!!! I MADE HER BLOG! Well, me and all the rest of these cool girls. :)

Look out world...

We don't usually go anywhere. Or at least it doesn't seem like it. But I think from now until almost summer, we will have very few weekends that we will either be traveling or at a wedding. J was gone for a work trip a week ago, I left for my workshop on Monday, J left again on Thursday (before I got home from Louisiana) for a conference, I have an out of town thing I have to go to February 6th (I hope), I'm sure J has something else he has to travel for before March 6th, that weekend I have an out of town photo shoot, April 4th we have a wedding out of town, then May 2nd another wedding...but thankfully it's here. Tonight I found out that J has a meeting (out of town) the weekend of May 2nd (a wedding that Anna is in). He suggested that he take Anna with him and come back the next day to be there for the rehearsal. Yikes! We're busy!

Give Me Moore.

I just posted a new entry on my photography blog (Shuttermouth) about my FAB-U-LOUS workshop in Louisiana. Check it out!

Who was watching his girl?

Daddy was supposed to be, but he was sitting on the couch playing games on his iPhone. I was on the computer working (where else?) when Anna came up to me to ask a question. I looked at her and just about fell out of my chair. She didn't really know what I was laughing at since she hadn't seen herself. She was just coming to ask a normal question with a straight face. I took her back into the living room where J was sitting on the couch and asked, "Were you watching her?" With a puzzled look on his face he replied, "She was running around!" Obviously not the case since I keep the diaper changing supplies in a basket usually in the middle of the living room floor. Sure enough, there was a pile of baby powder right next to the basket where she had been dumping it out and rubbing it all over herself. RIGHT in front of her dad. He had no idea and she was being very quiet and occupied. She had a good laugh when she saw herself after I took her into the bathroom to wash her hair and face again. You can't really see the thickness of the powder in this shot, and it was caked on her scalp and semi-damp, just washed hair. Nice.

Tagged...10 honest things.

1. I'm obsessed with cleaning out my ears.
2. I want to be a type A personality and I'm more like type Z (I know that doesn't exist).
3. I like the smell of all things flammable.
4. I want to win the lottery and only buy photo equipment. That's what it will take to get some of the things I want. :P
5. My biggest pet peeve is when people look at me or talk to me like I'm stupid.
6. I have a hard time being myself around people I don't know.
7. I'm constantly wanting to do something drastically different to my house.
8. I can make decisions for other people, but have a hard time making decisions for myself.
9. I'm not ever satisfied with anything that I do.
10. I'm a "piler", meaning, I put mail and other things that can be stacked on top of each other which makes lots of random piles around my house.

I tag Erin, Cristin, Theresa, Julie, Amy D., Molly, Carla, Kassie, Deborah, Lindsey...ok a few more than I'm supposed too, but that's ok.

Everywhere I looked...

...this.

This, my friends, was a shot I took while in Louisiana at my fabulous workshop. I like to shoot "details" when I think about it during photo shoots since you never know when you may get the chance to make a collage. While we were shooting with models on Wednesday, I would sporadically turn to something around me and take a shot. I got one girl wondering once and as I looked down at some cool sticks on the ground and pointed my camera towards them, she said, "What are you doing? Are you going to take pictures of that stick?" She wasn't being rude, she really was just wondering. I quickly looked up and as I tried to hide my embarrassment, I just replied, "Ha! No! I was just checking something..." And kept on shooting. I was so worried I'd look stupid at the workshop with all the other "pro-photographers"... But I happened to turn around unnoticed once and take this super cool shot of the trees. There is VERY little done to this photo (just a little sharpening) and I think I may blow it up huge and put it somewhere in my house. I'll give more details on my fabulous workshop soon. :) And yes, I REALLY did take this photo.

One Question...

Who does Louisiana think she is, hogging all the water and trees?  

I have to admit that it's pretty awesome here in Louisiana.  But I like home too.  While driving this afternoon, I thought it would be a good idea to document my trip with photos.  As I kept driving, I thought, "Oh, that would be a good shot...  Oh, maybe I should slow down or turn around to get that one...  I should stop and get something before the sun gets too low...  I'll wait until I get to the Louisiana state line and take the cliche shot of the "now entering  Louisiana" sign...."  And so on...  But as the sun got lower and lower in the sky I soon realized that there was no way I was stopping on the interstate to get some shots when I was doing such a good job staying with the traffic and dodging the trucks.  Going from an average of 80mph to a complete stop seemed more and more impossible.  So, I didn't get anything.  I'll get some things tomorrow and those of you, like me, who've never been to Louisiana to see the ridiculous amounts of trees and the complete lack of visual freedom, will get to experience this alien world.  But I'm sure most have seen this tree hog of a state...or at least something similar.  And I've seen something similar, it's just amazing to see it again since I live (for my entire life) in a treeless environment.  

Give Me Moore!

The Kelly Moore workshop is on Wednesday and I'm super pumped. My mom and dad decided that it would be best if we leave tomorrow instead of waiting until Tuesday morning. My mom is going with me. We were planning on driving a little over half way, staying with some relatives Tuesday night and then I'll be taking off to Ruston, Louisiana at the crack of dawn (really before then) to get there by 9:30am. Since I'd have to leave at around 4:30am to get there in time, my dad graciously offered to buy me a hotel room for Tuesday night instead of having to try to dodge traffic in a state in which I'd never been early Tuesday morning. Thanks DAD!! So we leave tomorrow evening sometime. It will be a much needed break for reality. Although J will be out of town when I get home. He has a conference to go to way down south and will be gone till Sunday. So it will be me alone with the kids for a another couple of days after I get back. It'll be a crazy week that I'm thinking will fly by...well, I hope some parts fly by and others go in extreme slow motion (i.e. the workshop). :) Wish me luck! I'll need it.

"Who needs sleep?"

Now I lay me down not to sleep.
I just get tangled in the sheets.
I swim in sweat three inches deep.
I just lay back and claim defeat.
--
Chapter read and lesson learned.
I turned the lights off while she burned.
So while she's three hundred degrees,
I throw the sheet off and I freeze.
--
Lids down, I count sheep,
I count heartbeats.
The only thing that counts is
that I won't sleep.
I countdown, I look around.
--
Who needs sleep?
Well you're never gonna get it
Who needs sleep?
Tell me what's that for?
Who needs sleep?
Be happy with what you're getting.
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War.
--
My hands are locked up tight in fists.
My mind is racing, filled with lists
of things to do and thing's I've done.
Another sleepless night's begun.
--
Lids down, I count sheep.
I count heartbeats.
The only thing that counts is
that I won't sleep.
I countdown, I look around.
--
Who needs sleep?
Well you're never gonna get it.
Who needs sleep?
Tell me what's that for?
Who needs sleep?
Be happy with what you're getting.
There's a guy who's been awake
since the Second World War.
--repeat--
There's so much joy in life,
so many pleasures all around.
But the pleasure of insomnia
is one I've never found.
With all life has to offer,
there's so much to be enjoyed.
But the pleasures of insomnia
are ones I can't avoid.
--chorus repeat--

These are they lyrics to one of the best songs ever written, Barenaked Ladies "Who needs sleep?" The first part totally fits the way my husband works. He gets hot, says I radiate heat like a furnace, he throws sheets off, then gets cold. The rest is both him and me and probably fit the majority of the population. And right now, it fits my kids as well. With J being out of town, it's been exhausting. I don't know how some wives do it when their husbands are gone for lengthy amounts of time. I would definitely go completely insane.

Organization for the unorganized mind.

I've never been the most organized person in the world, I'll admit it. But even the slightest bit of organization, maybe the removal of a pile of mail on the table, can give me great joy and relief. I'm sure it does for most people, or at least those who are "pilers". Although I can't even remember the last time I really reorganized anything in my house by myself...or even one in the last house we lived in. Some of my dear friends who helped me clean out that disaster of a house can second that thought. We haven't lived in this house but a little over a year and things are already starting to get out of hand. Well, things weren't ever REALLY very organized to begin with. I was huge prego with Grey when we moved in, got a hellish case of the flu, had a baby, and the rest is, well, it's the rest. It was a nice breath of fresh air when we moved and I was able to get rid of lots of unnecessary things. I think I lost my mind in the process, but we still had lots of "just stuff." Why do we have all that stuff anyway?

Starting a photography business is something that has started to become a little overwhelming. I liked it about 6 months ago when I didn't have lots of people emailing and calling wanting schedule sessions. I had one session (maybe) every couple of weeks or so. I was able to feel like I was still learning new things and experimenting with the art of photography. All of that began to change gradually, then BAM! Things were way different all of a sudden. I'm so glad that things change, I still really LOVE doing this, and know I will continue to love it. I just need to get my head out of the purple haze of the art world (not really) and get to the reality of this actually becoming and being a business. I have done the normal stuff to start a business. One thing I got was a planner. Why? To hold more "stuff." I hope that I keep it presentable and be able to take it places and have it handy to put important "stuff" in... I hope it stays cute. I hope I USE it. I'm not the "planner" type. I've always tried to be, but my brain just doesn't work that way... I'm not really sure which way my brain works exactly. Does anyone else know? If you do, can you fill me in? Thanks.

I thought the other day that I wish I had an office that wasn't in my bedroom. I feel like the kids are running in and out of the bedroom and I'm nowhere near where I can tend to them or help them with things while I get a few things done on the computer. I don't feel like I can wait until later on to work, like at night after they go to bed, because my husband is home then and I wouldn't ever speak to him if I were couped up in the bedroom. But there will be no way (ever) to make an office in a different place in this house. I can't even move the furniture and make it feel "different". And like to move me some furniture. The layout of the house is the way it is. It's great, but all things inside must remain static. Unless we knock a hole in the wall between the living room and our bedroom... hmmmm. No, not really. OR we could knock ALL the walls down and make a "loft" style house! No, not really to that too.

And so on...my mind runs. Over and over again through all the photos I need to be processing. To the things I "should" be doing... to the things I'd like to do... to the things I MUST do. As I sit here, I see two empty shelves above me, five separate piles of papers around the keyboard, a mail catty thing that's full of randomness, our old computer to my left sitting on an empty box, a stack of disks with all my clients' photos on the floor next to a disk organizer (empty), another box of "office things" to my left, a chair with laundry and a bag of who knows what sitting on it... and so on. I'll get it all done someday.

And no Mom, I'm not secretly asking for your help...again. HA! You helped lots on Tuesday. Thanks!! :)

Bathtime with Grey.

Grey gets the shaft sometimes when it comes to blog posts. So here's one just for him.


Grey is the king of yoga. Here he is trying out another move.

Censors.

Anna and I were laying in her bed night before last reading books. She chose Sleeping Beauty. As I read, we came to the part where Maleficent changes into the dragon and fights Prince Philip while he tries to make his way to the tower where Aurora is sleeping. Maleficent shoots lightning rods at the prince and creates a forest of thorns around him to slow him down, but the prince prevails. He emerges from the forest of thorns to see Maleficent transformed into a fire breathing dragon and hears her shout, "Now you shall deal with ME, oh prince!" Now in the movie, there is another line which Maleficent states, but I'm very sure they left this line out of the book purposefully. Since Anna has seen the movie a gabillion times, she knows the line...and knows it well. I found out how well she knows it night before last. I read the line, "Now you shall deal with ME, oh prince!" And in very dramatic fashion Anna continues, "AND ALL THE POWERS OF HELL!!!!!"

I suppose it's not like she cussing, but it just sounds so weird and wrong coming from a 3 year old.

A Special Request.

We were sitting in the kitchen eating some lunch...

Anna: Mom, you need to ask Santa to come back.
Me: Why does Santa need to come back?
Anna: You need to tell him to come back and bring me something.
Me: What do you need?
Anna: I need some nockulars and a movie called Peter Pan.
Me: What are nockulars?
Anna: You know those nockulars? (as she makes her hands into circles and puts them over her eyes) ...so I can see Nana's house.
Me: OH, binoculars?
Anna: Yeah.

FG Marathon: Part 1 Continued

This weekend was a whirlwind of stress and craziness...and I wasn't even in the wedding! It was fun to say the least and Anna had the best time of her life, or at least she acted like it. This is Jackson. He was Anna's date for the night (the ring bearer). He did a great job and was actually not a rookie when it comes to walking down the isle holding a pillow.

Jackson: "Girl, you need to get over yourself AND that basket!"

I decided to not carry my camera around with me everywhere I went on the day of the wedding. Although I know I missed some great shots, I wouldn't have gotten to enjoy the day as much and Anna would have had much less "instruction" and supervision if I had my camera. I just made sure she didn't lay on the floor or fall down any stairs and skin her face on any concrete before the wedding. I must have told her a hundred times in different ways how to do her "big, important job." She just kept nodding her head as if she knew what to do. She did very well at the rehearsal, but I was afraid that all the people in the sanctuary would freak her out. And there were LOTS of people there...I think like 400? Yeah, lots. So I stood back in the back of the church with her giving her a pep talk while the bridesmaids walked down the isle. Then it was her turn. She stepped down the isle like the pro I knew she'd be; walking slowly and dropping rose pedals as she went. Jackson, on the other hand, took off running and flinging the pillow around like a 2.5 year old should, just like in the rehearsal. Anna turned and looked at me as she walked as if to say, "What does he think he's doing?!" It was awesome. I ran down the side of the church and met her at the front and called her off to the side. She was concerned that she didn't throw all of her pedals. I was more concerned that she would freak out if she ran out of pedals. She did great. Sitting still during the ceremony, however, was a different story. But we made it through. Then came the reception. This girl took full advantage of the dance, the food and sweets, and a little freedom in a princess dress.
She was one of the first ones on the dance floor.


They had a money dance (?) and Anna wanted to dance with the prince.

Anna LOVES her cousin Abby (a junior bridesmaid) and didn't let the poor girl rest the entire night.

Anna's getting a little dance lesson from Brooke, the bride.

"Come on Abby! The night is still young!!"


This is Ava, Anna's other cousin and Abby's little sister. She wouldn't step foot on the dance floor, but got her groove on just about 2 feet from the edge.

Dancing so much can do an number on a girl's princess dress. Brooke's there to give Anna a little adjustment.

The line was very long to get food and we were all pretty hungry. Apparently J thought it was quicker to go to Church's (yuck!) for a little pre-reception snack. He was right, and Anna almost drank one of these entire cokes herself.

Like I said, I didn't have my camera during the ceremony, but the wedding photogs couldn't take their cameras off of Anna. It seemed like every time I looked over to see where they were (because I'm a stalker, you know) they had their lenses pointing right at Anna. I figured I'd order some from them when they get the wedding finished.

Flower Girl Marathon: Part 1

This weekend will be the first wedding that Anna will be in. The first of 3 in the next 4 months. Her dress is steamed and hung high up so she can't touch it with her grimy little hands. She is super excited about seeing Brooke in her princess gown and wearing her dress as well. I've had several casual discussions with her about her "big important job" she will have on Saturday. I'm keeping my expectations very low so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised with her willingness to cooperate. We'll see about that. She has become a 13 year old lately and doesn't seem to like anything I say to her or do. She might be caught up in all the glamour and attention... which could turn out great or be a complete nightmare. I'll keep you posted.

The Results are IN!

THANK YOU EVERYONE for voting for me!!

See the results HERE!

Vote for ME!

Go to my photography blog and check it out! PLEASE!

Update: polls closed early...don't know why.