Big News!!

So...we've been busy shooting engagements, weddings and portraits.  Car show this weekend and we have three shoots lined up for next weekend.  Fall is just around the corner!!  Can you feel it?!

And...yesterday I went to the doctor to confirm my suspicions...and found out that I am indeed, 5 weeks pregnant!!  I'm ecstatic and terrified and I will likely be a total monster during the next 9 months, so please forgive me.  Expect somethings along the lines of, "Don't smoke in my general vicinity!  Are you crazy?!"  or "Don't you dare touch my stomach!  Do you want me to break your arm?!"  If you don't remember why, see this post.  In a burst of optimism, I have now added a "pregnancy" label.  Yay!  (I'm very tired and my back hurts, so don't get angry that you didn't get a personal phone call.  This is way easier.)

Normally, I wouldn't share this happy news with people until we reached that critical 3 month mark, but I've put everything else out here, so I might as well document the whole experience.

I'll get results from a progesterone test on Monday, but my doctor has me taking a supplement anyway since my levels were low during the last pregnancy.  I have my first prenatal appointment (with a new obstetrician) on Tuesday, so I'm anxious to find out how we are going to go about keeping me sane during this process, especially since I have to quit my happy pills.  I think I have Restless Leg Syndrome, which is very uncomfortable.  That combined with the lower back pain that is pretty much constant, make me really nervous, but I'm going to try to be positive.   

Buzz, buzz

Been a busy bee...

1. Working on the photography business a lot, which feels good.  Please follow the blog--I've actually been updating it lately.

2. My child has suddenly reverted back to acting like a baby--, tantrums, saying "uppy, snacky, huggy" and ...not using the toilet.  Her doctor says we are locked in a "power struggle".  I say, it sucks.

3. I hate summer.  Anyone with me?  Bugs (I got bit by radio-active mosquitoes, which gave me red/purple baseball-sized lumps all over my legs), heat (yuck), sweating (nasty), grass that needs to be mowed (not my job, but still a bummer). 

4. I do like having frequent play dates with our neighbors.  Since I'm home and Renee is home for the summer, we've been seeing a lot of each other lately, which is very cool.  I LOVE that the girls are friends and so excited to see each other.  Anna keeps asking when she'll get to play with Sophia again.  And, we are having our second play date tonight with her friend Lydia, who lives not too far away.  It cracks me up that these are play dates for the adults as well as the girls, because we really like the parents of these kids, so that's cool.

5. I said I was done with vampires, but of course, I'm not.  I'm really enjoying the Sookie Stackhouse series and "True Blood", so....there.

6. I haven't actually finished a craft project in 4 years, so I'm very proud that I have one nearly done and will share pics next time.

7. We are shooting a wedding this weekend, which I'm excited about.

8. Paramore concert is one week away!!  Totally stoked!!!

And with that in mind, I give you the lyrics to my favorite Paramore song...

We Are Broken

Album: RIOT! (CD/Digital)

VERSE ONE: 
I am outside and I've been waiting for the sun 
With my wide eyes i've seen worlds that don't belong 
my mouth is dry... with words i cannot verbalize 
tell me why we live like this. 

PRE: 
and keep me safe inside 
your arms like towers 
tower over me. 

CHORUS: 
Cause we are broken 
what must we do to restore 
our innocence and all the promise we adored? 
give us life again 
we just wanna be whole. 

VERSE TWO: 
Lock the doors, I'd like to capture this voice 
That came to me tonight 
so everyone will have a choice 
and under red lights, i'll show myself it wasn't forged 
we're at war... we live like this. 

PRE: 
keep me safe inside 
your arms like towers 
tower over me 

CHORUS: 
Cause we are broken 
what must we do to restore 
our innocence and all the promise we adored? 
give us life again 
we just wanna be whole. 

BRIDGE: 
ahhhh 
ahhhh 
tower over me 
tower over me 

CHORUS: 
Cause we are broken 
what must we do to restore 
our innocence and all the promise we adored? 
give us life again 
we just wanna be whole.

More Macro

I played with the macro lens again, but inside this time.

Princess Potato Head...
Eiffel Tower, obviously...

Anna's jewelry box prince and princess...

Aren't they a cute couple?

Fleur-de-lis necklace...

My Little Beauty

I've been going through pics of Anna to hang in adorable mattes in her room. So, I'd like to take a moment to gush over just how beautiful this little girl is. :)

You may notice that I don't share pictures of her face on this website and that is purely because I'm paranoid like that. Take my word for it...she's a keeper.

We were out shopping on Monday and at every store, people were stopping to tell me how cute she is. And, I kept thinking to myself, "They are probably wondering how in the world a gorgeous creature like that could be related to me." And, I'm sure they came to the same conclusion that I did a few years ago...she must have been switched at birth.

ANYway, I love these pics from this past weekend. Sure, I love portraits of her beautiful face, but I also love photos that frame her independence nicely. I still vividly remember the first day she was no longer attached to my hip and suddenly wanted to run and play without me. These pictures just remind me how grown up she is.

Following instruction very well...we said, "Walk over there," and darned if she didn't do just that.

Asking if she could go in and "pet the baby buffalo..."



I LOVE LOVE LOVE her hair. My favorite thing in the world is to brush and stroke her fabulous locks. I WISH my hair had natural curl like this.

I've always thought that it is important to instill confidence in your child. I read it on one of those sappy Mom poems that is hanging on our fridge. You know, the ones that get passed around this time of year and never fail to make you cry? Yeah, so I have been telling her since she was born how beautiful and smart and kind she is. There are times, though, that I wonder if I've gushed too much.

Like when we were at the Tommy Hilfiger store this past weekend. It was the first time I had taken her into a dressing room because I normally just pick out clothes for her. She picked out a pink and white-striped dress and insisted that we buy it. We took it into the dressing room and man did she strike some poses in front of the mirror. Then, she literally strutted out of the room to show her Daddy. I believe there was even a twirl in there. She announced to her reflection, "I look adorable! This is just my size."

At three years old, I don't think I'm going to call it "vanity." We'll wait until she's sixteen and taking a baseball bat to her cheerleading competitors' kneecaps.

Razzle Dazzle

I feel the need to post something, anything, so that last post isn't the first thing on my page. So, don't look down there! Look here! Cute animals!! Why, yes...that is Harrison Ford feeding a hippo.

We watch a lot of The Discovery Channel and National Geographic and Animal Planet because those are the only channels (along with The Food Network and HGTV) appropriate for young eyes when PBS Kids and Playhouse Disney aren't on. So, Anna has already seen a giraffe being born. Surprisingly, she was not grossed out. Just wait until I pull out the video of her birth. Guaranteed to make a girl keep her legs crossed for at least 35 years. (Just kidding...there is no video of her birth. But, that video we watched in our Childbirthing Class would have done the trick if I hadn't already been 8 months pregnant. They should show that in high schools.) I had a point...oh, yeah! So, a giraffe's gestation period is 15 months and then they just drop the kid six feet and hope it's okay?!

Seriously, if you don't visit The Big Picture at least once a week, you are missing out on amazing photographs and stories that I didn't even know I should care about. Who loves the internet? I do, I do!

Life under a macro-scope

Anyone miss me? Don't answer that. Unless you did.

We had a bit of a family crisis this past weekend. I'm still running a debate within myself about whether or not I will share this with you. We're still coming to terms with the whole situation and I'm consoling myself by sleeping as much as humanly possible. That's where I go when I'm depressed, so that's where you'll find me---in bed. I saw my paid therapist yesterday and I spoke to my free therapist (my aunt) today, so I'm working on putting myself back together. Life just sucks sometimes, but you have to move on.

Roy's company is going into a merger, so he has been working very hard lately, but it has been nice to have him working from home some days. Since he has been working four 10-hour days, we've gotten to spend a lot of time together as a family and it has been very nice. I'm so thankful that he is my rock, as always, during yet another storm.

ANYway...I've been playing with the macro lens lately. It has taken me repeated efforts to actually get any shots worth keeping. But, today, third time was a charm. It turns out that you have to be very specific about what you are focusing on.

Anna and I were having some fun in the yard this morning and we spent a lot of time harassing a poor ladybug. Anna kept begging me to let her "keep it forever and ever."

We're going to go pick out a tree to plant in the backyard this afternoon, so, Happy Earth Day!

Expose Yourself: Day 4

Today's clue: Something I collect...

Eiffel Towers. Pretty self-explanatory. No, I've never been to Paris. Yes, I've wanted to go everyday of my life. Someday, I'll take the plunge.

"Paris is always a good idea."

I tell you what...Roy and I are having fun with these photo challenges! :) Probably because we'll use any excuse to take pictures.

Expose Yourself: Day 3

Today's clue: Something I can't live without....

This is the Tiffany necklace that Roy bought me for my very first Mother's Day. I had it engraved with his, mine and Anna's first initials. It is my absolute favorite piece of jewelry, aside from my wedding and engagement rings. While I adore the necklace, the things that I truly can't live without are Roy and Anna. Since they are at work and school, you'll have to settle for a picture of their initials.

Obviously, I can physically live without material possessions, but I sure do love stuff. The living room has been my "office" for the past month because our home office is in a state of chaos right now. However, that should change this weekend as we finally got our new storage system, yay! The ottoman pictured above holds my Mac and iPhone, two things that I never would have asked for myself, but Roy purchased for me and now I can't imagine life without them. I always have the house phone and TV remote handy, in case I get a call for an interview (in case, ie: hasn't happened yet) or I have the sudden, unexplainable urge to watch "The View" (which also hasn't happened yet.) Then, we have my magazine stack full of sticky-tabbed pages and my legal pad full of sticky notes.

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to have a notebook full of sticky notes. You can write on a notebook, so why write on sticky notes and them attach them to a notebook? Because I am a freak. I love sticky notes almost as much as I love chocolate. I think of random things at random moments, so I grab a sticky note. Writing things down makes my brain sigh in relief because I was hanging on to that one thought until I could find a pen and paper, but now I can forget about it. And forget about it, I will, because that thing will never get done. No, the sticky note will fall off and get lost long before I remember to remember the thing that was so important that it had to be written down right that moment.

Expose Yourself: Day 2

Yesterday, I was at Bed, Bath & Beyond with my mom and we were looking for a bed pocket for Anna's bed. They didn't have one, but they did have lots of new wall art, which I have a real weakness for. I can't tell you how much wall art we have sitting in our garage that is not being used.

Anyway, I saw this...

...which inspired me to try something similiar. So, when today's clue was "something borrowed", I decided to "borrow" BB&B's idea and make my name out of objects around the house. Voila!

Once I decided what I was going to do, this exercise was so much fun! At first it was hard to find things that look like letters, but by the end I was seeing letters, letters everywhere!

Expose Yourself: Day 1

That sounds dirty, doesn't it? :) So, I've decided to do a photo challenge, mostly for myself, but if you'd like to play along, I'd love to see your images. NO nudity!! That title is just for fun!

I made some vague clues that give me a starting point and I'll pick one every weekday and take a picture based on the clue. If you want to play, just use the logo above (and link it back to Cookies For Breakfast) and post your photo on your blog. Then, leave a comment on my website that includes the link to your blog. If we get several responses, I'll feature one person's photo the next day.

Here is my clue jar...

And here is today's clue....

Something I wish I'd never bought

And here is that something....

....toys that make silly sounds. I have to admit that we still use the baby monitor for our three-year old. I don't know if that is normal, but I still cling to the comfort of knowing what is going on in her room. She gets up and comes into our room when she wakes up, but for the most part, she will just call if she needs something.

Back to the toys that make silly sounds....Sure, they sound cute and fun in the daylight, but when your child insists on sleeping with every stuffed animal she owns, you end up hearing very strange noises coming from her bed in the middle of the night. For instance, at 3 am, you might hear a pained child's voice whining, "I don't feeeel so well," and you panic because you know that will soon be followed by the messy, "I need to frow up." But, after you get your bearings, you realize that your child has simply rolled over onto Doctor Me Care Bear and you will not be cleaning up carrot chunks after all.

Or when Elmo suddenly issues a, "He, he. That tickles!" and you picture a purvey clown that has snuck into your child's room. All of these sound extra creepy in the dark--like those kid's voices that they use on horror movies to freak you out.

Note to new parents: DO NOT buy these toys if you want sanity in the wee hours. (That is, after your child has learned to sleep. We all know about the insanity of the newborn, of course.)

Fun with Photo Editing

Boy, did I have fun today. I bet I will hear about it when Roy gets home tonight. I'd like to point out that aside from the awesomeness that you see here, I also iChatted with Jenn for the first time, which was Awesomeness on a Stick, and I got two, count 'em, TWO loads of laundry done. A really fulfilling day.

I apologize if the lovely lads in this pic don't think they look good. I think you both look awesome. (That's the word of the day, BTW.)


I believe I was practicing my Edward-smolder here...


Hanging out in the woods, always fun...

Put in your orders now for this limited-edition framed print of...me...in my awesomeness...

So that you don't think I'm totally vain, I included a collage of some of the magnets that we purchased recently for our new white board in our office-revamp-in-progress. These are available at your local Michael's store for the low, low price of $1 each. Can't beat that.

And I'm spent.

Update: I added a vacation collage to Red Photo...http://red-photo.blogspot.com/2009/03/stay-tuned.html