Hissyfits Photography Blog

Here it is…my absolutely amazing, cheery, bright, fun, sassy, fabulous new logo for Hissyfits!! Can you tell I am in love with it?!!

The wonderful Genevieve was so patient and kind in working with me and has truly captured everything I wanted and more!! The thing is, while I gave her my thoughts and wants, she created this on her own!! She listened to what I had to say and went with it! It is truly me and I cannot wait to take this new little business of mine and RUN!!

So…now I am trying to figure out how to watermark my images with this funky new logo of mine! I guess I am an idiot and I didn’t realize that brush files are only monochromatic. Well, of course I want to be able to do this in color if the mood so strikes, so I have to figure all that out. I think I need a “band” over my images with the file on top of it but I have NO clue how to do that. Help? Please? Anyone? {The more detail the better for this girl!!}

The ideas are swirling in my mind tonight!! I want to get my website going and blog situation figured out as soon as possible!! It was mentioned {in a very nice way} that my style of post processing is much softer than the vibrant colors you will find in my logo and on my website! I realized that long ago, but that is just me! I have all these ideas of how I am going to type something up about how “Vibrant color mixes with the retro tone of my images…” Obviously it will be much more thought out and well written than that, but it is nearly 10:30 and I’m tuckered out! I really see myself moving towards just having one blog…but it will be much the same. I have thought and thought and thought and thought and thought about this and for me, I think the best fit is one blog…a mixture of my personal life {which includes my kids, shopping, Etsy, reality TV and whatever else tickles my fancy!} and professional images.

WHEW! So even though I am tired I have a feeling my mind won’t shut off once I get in bed tonight!!

ANY help on my watermark issue would be fantastic!!

So my sweet friend Laura whipped up a post awhile back that included some of her favorite things! Although we have been friends for years {since high school!}, it was fun to read up on these interesting little tidbits that don’t tend to come up all that often!! Well, her infatuation with Tim Riggins of Friday Night Lights I was quite aware of…but not the rest of her post!! {Love ya Laura!!}

So, speaking of Tim Riggins, I’ll start off with some of my favorite TV shows! I LOVE me some Friday Night Lights as well! We watched this show every single week last season and I was so bummed when they canceled it…so you can imagine that I am thrilled it is back on again!! We tune in every Friday night and are glued to the screen until it’s over! LOVE IT!! {But NBC has made it nearly impossible to get pictures off of their website so I can’t post one!!}

I also have an addiction to General Hospital. I got into this back when I wasn’t working but before Huntler was born. So like May of 2004 or so. Oh my…have I seriously been watching that long?!! I am not so crazy as to insist on watching it on every trip we take or anything like that, but I was happy to see that ABC is now showing the episodes online!! I DVR it every day so I watch it each night, but just in case something “huge” was going on it would be nice to watch it on vacation if I ahem, “needed to!”

Funny little story about GH. From time to time the kids watch it. Either I watch it before they are in bed or they are off playing and they come back in or whatever and they see it. Now here is the really bad part…they like it. Pretty sure that the language is NOT appropriate for a two and four year old. Or the violence. So, Huntler talks about going to the hop-sit-al {that is how he says it!!} all the time. For random reasons. The other night he was telling Gentry to be careful or she was going to have to go to the hop-sit-al. She replies with, “General Hospital?” I have heard her say it before, several times, but this was the first time Chris has heard her and it cracked him up!!

The Bachelor. Sure sometimes it is downright annoying and ridiculous, but I love it. I have watched every single season but the first one and I am sure I’ll continue to do so!! I mean, one of these times really does have to be “THE most dramatic rose ceremony ever,” right?!!

This coming Monday is the “biggie” of the season! Jason chooses between Molly and Melissa! I personally like Melissa a bit better! She is so down to earth and seems so sweet! Plus, she is the ONLY one I liked on the first episode and I even told Chris, “My pick for the season is Melissa!” I have gotten it right a few times so let’s see if I can do it again!!

I am also pretty hooked on Law and Order SVU, Jon and Kate Plus 8 and Desperate Housewives…but I won’t babble on about TV shows anymore!

So this has to be one of my most prized posessions! My camera. I guard it like it is a helpless child! It is always WAY up high on a shelf and out of the reach of curious hands!! If there were ever a fire, my camera would be rescued just as soon as the kids were safe! The computer would be next {although we are now using a system where our stuff is backed up and stored elsewhere so it is safe!!} and then probably all of Gentry’s clothes! There is a newer {more expensive} version of the 5D out, but I am so happy with mine!! Although our other camera was wonderful, I was just ready to move on to something with more options and capabilities!

This color of nail polish! I used to paint my nails ALL the time. That was two kids ago. Now it is a rare, rare occasion when they are painted! I am just now finally growing them back out again! After Gentry was born I cut my nails short and have kept them that way this whole time. I don’t even know why? But now for some reason I appear to be growing them out again? Anyway, like you even care about any of that nonsense! I use this shade on my toes {a lot} because they are ALWAYS painted! This is such a fun, spring-y color and Gentry loves it as much as I do!

TomKat. For those of you not obsessed with celebs, that would be Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. I love Katie. I have for years…ever since Dawson’s Creek. Anyway, now that they have sweet little Suri I am even more intrigued by them. I have no idea why…maybe because she genuinely seems nice. Like the girl next door…just with a superstar for a husband and a megaload of money!! I mean, other than that, she could be you or me!!

I saw this video today while I was checking up on them…it is kinda cute!

Sonic. Need I say more? Give me a Route 44 Cranberry Grape slush and I am good to go!!

And I saved the best for last…my sweets!! This was taken back in August when we were visiting California! I didn’t do any editing to it and it was taken in full sun, so it isn’t that great, but we have very few family shots and the ones we do have I use on everything so I wanted something different!

And now I am off to see if I can get some stuff done while Gentry is napping and Huntler is fighting hard to stay awake!!

So I have spent the entire day working like a crazy girl!! Cleaning and sorting. Mostly sorting although I did run the sweeper upstairs this morning! I kinda had to though…there was an “incident” yesterday involving a large bag of popcorn from the Target snack center and the playroom floor. I am not quite sure who the guilty party is on that one, but it got me motivated to clean up a bit!!

And then the sorting…there has been a massive amount of kids clothing stashed at the back of our closet for weeks…maybe months now. Anyway, it needed sorted and organized so that I could figure out what exactly I am doing with it. Several of you sweet blog readers have expressed interest in both of the kids’ clothes. I am just trying to figure that all out. There is SO much. As in four of the HUGE totes full and two laundry baskets. Oodles and oodles of clothing. I am thinking it might be easier/smarter to try to sell what I can to the moms in our playgroup who are interested and then go from there? Unless I just put it in lots and give you a price? Those of you who were interested can shoot me an email on your thoughts!! But for now it is all folded nicely and organized by size and back in my closet again!

While I am on my spring cleaning kick, I am also getting rid of stuff. Some to Craig’s List, some to Good Will, some to Ebay even maybe. Here is one of the items that needs a home!!

This is the bumper pad that matches Gentry’s bedding set…crib and big girl. We obviously don’t have a need for a bumper pad anymore so I am going to list it on Ebay but thought I would see if anyone who stops by here is interested! We aren’t ready to part with the matching quilt yet. She uses that and will until we move since we are not planning on buying her big girl furniture until we are back in Kansas.

Anyway, Chris accidentally cut a little hole in it when he was cutting off the tag, but other than that it is in perfect condition. {We just covered it with a stuffed animal since it was in the corner!!} Pottery Barn bumper pads retails for $69 and we are asking $25 for it. Since it is kinda big I am guessing the shipping will be close to $10 or so? Let me know if you are interested!

Sorry it seems as though my posts have been a bit boring lately! I am trying to get rid of things and get organized!! With the reality of my photo biz being just on the horizon, I am feeling this overwhelming need to get everything in order!! All the “piles” dealt with, random items sold or hauled to Good Will…all of that!

Okay…that is my post for today!! Now I am off to get the kids more apples and start sifting through all my photography workshop print outs and getting those organized! I SO love days like this!! The kids have been by my side helping all day and we have really had a wonderful time!

Ta Ta For Now!!

And because I just can’t mix something so bright and cheery with something so heartbreaking, I am posting twice this morning.

By now most of you know I am an open book. I have very few things that I refuse to share. That is just me and my personality…always has been and always will be I am sure!! I hate secrets and surprises and think I have to know everything!! So yesterday my logo proofs came. I was SO excited I nearly wet my pants!! This designer TOTALLY nailed it on what is “me!!” I wasn’t going to share. I thought I was going to wait until I had decided and then show you the final product. But, I can’t wait! I mean, just look at these little bits of happiness and you’ll see why!!

Yesterday I was in such a tizzy and so excited I had no clue what I was going to do! This morning I still don’t know for sure, but I have had some time to look at them more and of course to sleep on it so things are a bit more clear!! I will be taking bits and pieces and combining them to get the look I want!!

Here is the original logo I had designed. We changed a lot on this one to make it more my style, but it just wasn’t working. SOMETHING was missing although I just couldn’t put my finger on it!

And now I am off to get ready for the day!! It looks like it is going to be beautiful out and we are going to enjoy it before it starts getting hot!

As I sit here bright and early this morning with my favorite girl on my lap, my heart is once again broken. We received an email from some of our dear, sweet friends this morning. An email they certainly didn’t want to send and we didn’t want to receive. They are about 19 weeks along with their first baby. A baby they love so deeply yet will never get to know. Due to a chromosomal fluke, their baby won’t make it, short of a miracle. I ask you each to say a prayer for their miracle and keep them in your thoughts.

The frailty of life has never been so clear as it has to me this past month. I was 23 when I got pregnant with Huntler and was blissfully unaware of how just how many things can go wrong. Things were easy for us. No problems getting pregnant. Other than the normal aches and pains, the pregnancy was easy. Normal delivery. What every parent hopes for and dreams of. We are blessed, so truly blessed. In the chaos of day to day life with cups getting spilled, food getting flung, bedskirts getting cut and powder bottles getting opened and a fine film covering an entire room {all of these have happened}, it is easy to get caught up. To forget to count our blessings. To forget to cherish each phase of childhood and what it brings to our lives.

My heart and mind are so heavy this morning as I think of our friends and how they are picking up the pieces and trying to move forward. I know they read this and I want them to know that they are so very close to our hearts and we are praying for their miracle. We love you both…

This one…he is something else for sure! Each day I think he gets funnier! Sassier, but funnier! Tonight he was in prime form and I smile sitting here thinking about his latest antics! Chris was late getting home tonight and when he finally did get here, the kids glued themselves to him! They instantly got louder and more out of control and quite simply, the amount of chaos more than doubled!! And then Huntler began…

He first piped in with a “Trust me.” What? Where did he get that from?!! And later he was sitting next to Chris and he said, “I’m a little jealous.” He SO did not use that in the right context, but it was cute for sure!! But the funniest was when I took him to bed and was getting him all tucked in for the night. I was reminding him that school was tomorrow and we had a short discussion. And then he starts:

Huntler: Knock Knock

Me: Who’s there?

Huntler: Peach

Me: Peach who?

Huntler: Peach Owl Horn

Ummm…okay. He thought it was hilarious though! And then he goes on…NONE of his jokes made one iota of sense, but he was cracking himself up. And me too. This was one of the first times he has ever told jokes before and it was really cute!!

He is a chatterbox these days. Not always so much out and about, but at home for sure! Sometimes I want to scream because he talks.so.much. {Between him and Gentry who is two going on twenty, there is rarely a quiet moment!!} But then I kick myself because what will I do when he is in school 8 hours a day and I don’t have my first born here chattering away all day long? We won’t go there tonight though…I can feel the tears welling up already just thinking about it!

While so many things are going so well in my life right now, I can’t help but feel reflective. I spend so much time thinking of how far we’ve come. How blessed we are. How much things have changed in such a short time. How we have grown with our kids and how we hope to shape them but how they have in fact shaped us in their short little lives… It is late, I am tired and my emotions are in overdrive right now. I was sifting through iPhoto today and SO many memories flooded my mind. It was a good day, a great day in fact, but definitely one that has me thinking!!

I am off to bed because tomorrow is a school day and those are always crazy! Not to mention I plan to load up my sweet babes and just go play. No camera. No schedule. Just a fun time with 100% of their mama!!

But first I have to say…I got the proofs for my new logo today and this designer nailed it!! She sent me three and I have no idea which one to choose!! She took what I said and truly listened and created something that is 150% me!! I can’t wait to share!! Once I decide that is!!

And then the fabulous Sheye Rosemeyer {whose photography and style I absolutely ADORE…so much so that I have taken both of her Eye Candy workshops!!} launched her actions!! I am beyond estatic!! They are very vintage/retro and oh so right up my alley!! I think I bought them like 10 minutes after she posted and I have already played around with the first half of them! There are many more to go, but this girl has gotta get some rest!!

{The above pic of Huntler was edited using her “Honeychild” action!!}

So the much awaited winners of the fun hair bow giveaway are in!! Rather than writing down thirty seven names {there were a couple of people who forgot to include their email address in their original comment}, I used a random generator to save myself some time! It was so darn easy and actually kinda fun! I sat there waiting for the numbers to pop up and then counted down the list of comments like I actually stood a chance of winning!!

So here they are…remember the first place winner gets her choice of the bows and then the second place winner chooses from the two remaining items!

The first number to pop up was #10.
It was Michelle at mikala4463@aol.com. Michelle, email me and let me know your choice and your address!! I am making a trip to the post office tomorrow so these will go out then!!

The second number was #2.
Kelly…I will let you know when Michelle decides so you can choose from the remaining two!

The third number was #20.
Jessica…after three boys Jessica is finally having a girl!! I am sure she will be all dolled up all the time!!

So that was fun!! I need to do something like that again before too long!! If you didn’t win and you “have” to have something, just shoot me an email at bethany.m.graham@gmail.com. I just made a cute bow last night for a custom order and would love to do more!!

And what is a post without a picture? This one was snapped late last night! The kids were slightly out of control in the bathtub and were in fact “sliding” down the back! I know my mom is cringing as she reads this as she hates it when they even stand up in the tub, but it was hilarious! And no one got hurt!! An entire extra load of laundry was created because there was as much water outside of the bathtub as in it, but this little snapshot is worth it!! I cropped it to keep the Little People zebra in as well as Gentry’s puppy in because he is NEVER far from reach!! You can also see a fabric covered button and a little bottle full of rubberbands. Talk about random!! Anyway, this past week they have apparently gotten bored with the regular bath toys because Little People keep finding their way to the bathroom!!

And because I have had so much fun answering all your burning questions…here are the rest of them!

How old am I?

I am 28…I’ll be 29 in April.

What is my favorite movie?

Ladder 49. I SOOOOO love that movie. It is one of the few that I could watch over and over and over again. If you have never seen it, you need to. And you will cry…but you’ll laugh too! Here is a video clip… {Scroll down and turn off the music on my player at the bottom.}

And the biggie…are we going to have more kids?!

Ohh how I wish I knew the answer to this one! Ask me one day and I say yes, ask me the next and I say no!! I told Chris that if I didn’t get pregnant in 2008 we were done. I don’t want a huge gap in their ages and Gentry will already be three this July. Well, I lied! But, if we are going to have another, I am pretty set on the fact that we need to get pregnant this year. As in May, June or July so it will be a spring baby and I won’t be huge in the summer months down here in this inferno. Plus, I need them somewhat spaced out for my over the top birthday parties!! It is just so hard to decide! Our kids are at such good, easy ages and adding another to the mix would be chaos for sure!! But I KNOW when we are older we will have wished we had a bigger family. So, who knows? I do know we have some DARLING names all picked out and ready to go! And no, I am not sharing! But I will share some other cute ones I have come across recently: Tinley, Keeper and Tapper. I thought those were all so cool!!

If anyone would be interested in a custom blog design created by moi?! I FINALLY found some digital kit designers who don’t charge a commercial license fee! YAY! Anyway, as you know, I love switching my blog up every little bit and thought it would be fun to do it for others!!

It would cost $65 {which includes me purchasing the kit of your choice and then the time to create and install it}. That includes the whole nine yards…custom header, different backgrounds, signature tab, sidebar tabs, etc… Pretty much just like mine since that is what I know! Or I should say my super smart husband knows since he does all the html part!! If you have different wants or needs we could probably figure it out!! {I should also mention that we only know Blogger…I have NO clue how the rest of the sites work!!}

Let me know your thoughts! Either comment on here or shoot me an email at bethany.m.graham@gmail.com!!

I should also put a little disclaimer that this is for PERSONAL blogs only…nothing professional!

I’ll be back to announce the giveaway winners tomorrow! But now I am off to make this weekend THE MOST productive I possibly can!

Our playdate was canceled this morning and because we had to do something, I loaded the kids up and we headed out of our normal stomping grounds for a little bit of location scouting!!

Well, this was after we stopped in at the salon I go to and then popped over to Sonic for some bribery…slushes and tater tots! My models were starving and we can’t have hungry kids for a photo shoot!

So everything went PERFECT! I found three great new places to shoot at, got some darling images of the kids, and in the midst of it we had fun! It is nice to get out of the house and go somewhere different sometimes.

All was well until I started uploading my pictures to the computer. Wouldn’t ya know that earlier in the week I changed the white balance setting and forgot to change it back? My pictures, every last one of them, is blue. Blue, blue, blue. See?

Thank goodness it was just on my own kids and wasn’t a client!! Not that I actually have clients yet, but you know what I mean!! That was a lesson learned the hard way for sure and something I will DEFINITELY remember to check from now on! I rarely even change it but was playing around a few days ago and then forgot to reset it!

I was planning to share more, but I don’t have the time to edit them all since they are requiring some extra work and still don’t look that great!! But, I have babbled on so much this week that I wanted to post at least a couple in my awesome new locations!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this wall! It is just a foot or two high, but it is so cute and so vintage-y feeling!!

So, do you see Huntler’s shirt? It has to be like my favorite shirt of his, ever. It is so big boyish and so darn cute!! {We bought it at Pumpkin Patch for anyone who is wondering!} He seems to like it too! I put it on him last week {when I planned to take him out for photos but got rained out} and he asked if he could wear it to school the next day! Sorry buddy, it is too good to get ruined by red paint!!

And here is another! This place is the one closest to our house {still like 20 minutes away though!} and SO boy! There are all sorts of {huge} dead trees on their sides to climb up and on. I can SO see some shots of a daddy holding his little guy’s hand as he helps him balance down the length of the tree! You can bet I will be washing this outfit of Huntler’s and loading up our daddy and sweet boy again {and Gentry too} for another trip down there!!

This particular shot is actually in a little cut out of a tree…as in the trunk. SO COOL! While I was somewhat worried about snakes and scorpions at this locale, the real threat was the prisoners!! There is a prison not too far from where we were! And no, I wasn’t really worried about an escapee! Chris just mentioned that it was awfully close to the prison when I told him where I was going!

And Gentrini-Beanie. I had to ask the restaurant if I could stick my kids behind the rails to shoot! It was early and there wasn’t a soul around so they let me!! They LOVED peeking out of this green gate!!

So there is what we did today! Now I need to get some emails returned and stuff done!! I need this to be a REALLY REALLY productive weekend!!

Hellloooo!! Chris just took off with the kids to hit up the FedEx location that hasn’t gone out yet tonight so I am enjoying a little quiet time for the moment! It is quite a LONG ways away so they won’t be back anytime soon…and here I sit pecking away at the keyboard!

First of all…WOWIE CAZOWIE!! {Gentry says that all the time and I just love it!!} Look at all those comments on my giveaway! I LOVE having giveaways because of just that {okay, so this is only my second one, but anyway…}! So many who don’t normally comment will for a giveaway and I {loooovvvee} me some comments!!

So for just a tad bit of shopping randomness today! Gentry and I hit up Target while Huntler was at school and guess what I found?! ALL of the Valentine’s Day stuff was 75% off!! HOLY COW! We loaded up on another set of placemats for each of the kids, several melamine plates, paper plates and napkins…lots of fun goodies!! I somehow saved $36 and only shelled out $12 on all that fun owl stuff!!

I was up until after 3:00 AM and I am worn out this evening. I have NO idea what my “problem” was last night because normally I can hardly keep my eyes open until 10:00 PM!! I do know that I am paying for it today though!!

Alright, so my friend Julie posted something on her blog today and I am copying it! Don’t you just LOVE the blog world? I have made some AMAZING friends out there! Friends I never would have crossed paths with if it weren’t for the world wide web and I am so grateful for that! Friends that despite the fact I have never met them for lunch or watched their kids, I totally feel like I could meet them one day and things would be so normal!! Like we had known each other forever!! I have plans of doing just that! Meeting some of these great girls I mean! I met Tonya already and HOPE to meet up with Kamee in March {since I don’t drive on the highways I need Chris to be able to take me to her!!} and Julie one of these times with I am out in her neck of the woods before we move back to Kansas! And Lacey? Well, once we are back in Kansas for good or on one of our road trips, I have plans to meet her too!! Has anyone else met a blog friend in “real life?” Just wondering! I find the whole thing fascinating!!

Back to the Making Friends Mondays thing. Remember last week when I asked what you wanted to know about me? Well, this goes right along with that so I am sticking it in for your reading enjoyment!!

1. jog or walk: Walking without a doubt
2. coffee or tea: Iced tea…I have NEVER drank coffee in my life!
3. pepsi or coca cola: Root Beer instead please!
4. flats or heels: Flats…oh my flats!! I didn’t even wear heels to my wedding! Or lipstick either!
5. fries or onion rings: Fries most of the time, but I do like Sonic onion rings!
6. cats or dogs: Dogs
7. skim or whole: I don’t drink milk, but we buy 2% for the kids!
8. small purses or large: That would be large for sure!!
9. van or suv: I am a minivan mom…I’ll admit it!
10. winter or summer: WINTER!!! Have you lived in AZ in the summer?! UGH!!
11. 1 piece bathing suit or 2: Hate this question…hate bathing suits too!! Two piece, but a tankini. No tummy shows!!
12. sit down restaurant or fast food: Sit down restaurant food in the comforts of home!!
13. McDonalds or Burger King: Don’t hate me but I actually LIKE McDonald’s!!
14. White Gold or Yellow: White Gold
15. Fish or Chicken: Chicken
16. Edward or Jacob: Who?? My husband’s name is Chris!!
17. Pizza or Burger: Love them both!
18. apple or orange: Granny Smith apples
19. Spend or save: Ohhh…a toughie!! Or maybe not! Spend!
20. 1 story or 2 story house: 2 story

I’ll answer a couple of the questions I got last week too!!

What is my guilty pleasure?

Sweets…any of them!! I am currently HOOKED on Good and Plenty candies. No wonder my jeans were so tight this morning!! I also love love love cherry cheesecake!! Even the Jello No Bake version is delish!!

What do I like to do with my husband or kids?

Hmmm…so let me just say that we live HOURS from our family. Like 18 hours. And although we have a lot of friends out here that I would completely trust with the kids, we never leave them. Ever. So, we aren’t big movie goers and we don’t go to sit down restaurants very often. Whatever Chris and I do or wherever we go, the kids come along. It was that way before we moved too. I hate to leave them, although I have gotten MUCH better. I mean, spend days on end with no break and you get a lot relaxed, fast!!

So anyway, some of my favorite times are playing games. I LOVE to play Scrabble and Scattergories and other word games {back to my whole almost majored in English thing!}. And I enjoy playing games with the kids too. And they LOVE it!!

Why Huntler and not Hunter?

Contrary to what pretty much everyone we meet thinks when they hear Huntler, it is not a family name!! When we found out he was a boy I started combing through the pages of our baby name book. One day I was laying on the bed scanning the names and it totally jumped out at me! From that point on, it was in the running!! Although Hunter is a great name, it just isn’t unique enough for me!! And in case you are curious, the other name at the top of the list was Ryerson. We liked them both but obviously Huntler more!!

What is a “typical” day like for us?

I LOVE this question! Although we don’t really have a “typical!” We wake up whenever we happen to wake up. During the summer it is MUCH earlier than it is right now because it gets light before 6:00 during those months! Right now it is still staying dark until close to 7:00 AM. So it is usually after 7:00 before we get up!!

I get up and check my email first thing. And then blogs. And then it just all depends on who is up and what they are doing as to what happens next! Gentry is usually awake at this time and sits on my lap at the computer every morning. Once I am done I’ll fix milk and breakfast and
bring it up to my room where the kids will watch cartoons while I get ready.

While I am getting ready or once I am done, the kids take baths. They used to get them at night, but now that Huntler is in school, I like him to get all nice and clean in the mornings! And Gentry, well, her hair is so darn crazy that it looks MUCH cuter if she gets it washed in the mornings!!

And from that point on, EVERY day is different. Some days are school days, some are playdates, some we stay home, some we run errands!! I prefer to do all of that in the morning. If we have errands we get them done and out of the way!! If we stay home, then the kids usually play and piddle around while I do laundry, make beds, get organized, that sort of thing.

Gentry still takes afternoon naps so when she is down, that is “my time!” Huntler either watches TV or plays trains. But to be honest, the last few weeks he has actually been napping pretty regularly. It seems that he went on a major eating binge and was eating us out of house and home and is now stocking up on sleep! Can you say growing boy?! So if I am not napping with them, I am usually on the computer wasting time!!

Now that it is warming up some, we need to start heading outside after naps to play and run. We tried this week but we were still freezing!! So we pretty much just hang around and play games, do puzzles, play toys or whatever. Sometimes I play, sometimes I don’t. It just kind of depends on how the kids are and if they are terrorizing each other!! From when Gentry wakes up {and Huntler too if he slept!} until the time Chris gets home is my LEAST favorite time of the day. It always has been. I am not really sure why, but those hours just drag by!! It was so nice though back in Kansas because all of our friends and neighbors were out waiting on their daddies too so we could hang out with them and pass the time!!

So Chris gets home. We find something to eat {I am NOT good at all about having meals planned or prepared!!} and then play with the kids, watch TV and just chill out. Once the kids are in bed {we try for an 8:30 bedtime but it varies, especially if Huntler has napped because he isn’t tired!} I try to watch General Hospital on DVR, play on the computer and just piddle around!!

And that is a typical day in the life!!

More answers to your burning questions coming soon! And I got completely caught up on emails last night but today I owe several of you! Since I am running on empty you may not hear from me until tomorrow or the weekend!!