Hissyfits Photography Blog

Just posting to see if I have a clue what  I am doing! This is all so new to me!! I’m sure it won’t be long and I’ll know my way around, but it is taking some getting used to for sure!

Yeah, so days and days with no posts and here I am 14 hours after my last one! Anyway, I was rereading my entry and the comments and I hope I don’t sound like I think I am perfect and have it all together because I most certainly don’t! Each and every day is different around here and each and every day I am trying to be the best mom I can. That is all. Nothing more than anyone else out there…I just happen to babble about it!

I am FAR from perfect…I will openly admit that!! And yes, I still get on the computer during the day while my kids are awake. Like I said last night, I am only human! Take this morning for example, Huntler is at school and Gentry has been sitting beside me sifting through my earrings and snacking while I return emails and edit a couple of pics. She is happy, I am happy. I guess what I was trying to say was that I am trying to be better about spending SO much time on here. Not that I am banning myself from the computer all day every day…that will NEVER happen!

Just wanted to clear that up and make sure that I didn’t sound like I thought I was some super great mom and that I have all the answers! I obviously don’t, I am just trying to do the best I can!

Okay, so really quick before we head off to get Huntler and have his conference. I wasn’t loving that image of him in the dumpster {yes, he IS in a dumpster…more on that later!} so I played around with it again and came up with this.

And here is the one from last night…I still can’t decide!!

And now we are off to meet with his teacher!!

Peace out dudes! {We taught Gentry to say that…it is hilarious!!}

For the last couple of days I have been composing this post in my mind. Funny how I am just now finding enough time to actually sit down and type it up! As I was replaying the pictures in my mind and thinking about what I would say, this Rodney Atkins song kept coming to mind. And so here is my jumping off point…

The last couple of weeks my posts have been few and far between. I found myself putting silly, random, pointless stuff in front of my people far too frequently. I think it is easy to do as a stay at home mom. I am with my kids twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. I obviously am going to be on and off the computer and “doing my own thing” at different times each day. I am only human after all. I also know for a fact I am not the only one who struggles with this each and every day. And while I seem to be getting my priorities back in check at the moment, I am quite aware of the fact that it is easy to slip back up. It starts out innocent enough…I’ll just edit a couple pictures while the kids are playing. And a couple turn into a few. And then I am returning emails. And checking blogs. It is a vicious cycle that is incredibly hard to break. And while I have not disconnected from the benefits of technology completely, I am stepping back and taking a look at how exactly I spend my time each day.

It won’t be long until both of my kids are in school all day, every day. That time is creeping up all too closely. I NEVER want to look back with regret on how we spent our days. EVER. The celeb gossip will wait…it really isn’t all that important anyway. Blogs will wait. Emails will wait. It will ALL be there later. But what won’t be is the sweetness of my kiddos at the stages they are in today. We all know they grow WAY too fast…that is becoming so painfully aware to me.

So bear with me as I find my groove! I most definitely plan to keep blogging, but I probably won’t post until evening…or maybe I’ll set them to post at random times during the day once I get back in the swing of things! We’ll see!!

We are coming off a WONDERFUL long weekend. We packed up Thursday and headed to California. Hours in the car with my people. Laughter, tears, giggles and memories were all shared during our road trip. Little bits and pieces of who we are flash through my mind as I type. Memories I will forever cherish.

My people…

For literally months now I have been dreaming of getting some graffiti shots. I really have no idea why exactly, but it was something I have been wanting! Considering we live in a big city, I am sure I could find some without a problem. But I am not exactly the kind of girl who loads up and heads to the inner city on a regular basis. Or ever.

So while we were in California, Chris somehow was able to find a beach where there was all sorts of graffiti. Remember, he is a computer genius! Anyway, Saturday morning we left our hotel and headed to Venice Beach for some more beach time and a photo session before heading home.

These aren’t exactly what I had in mind, but neither one of the kids were “feeling” this whole idea like I was!! I am lucky to have gotten the shots that I did! There are many, many more to share, but I am tired and heading to bed soon.

But first I have to share this. This little one is the whole reason we were out in California to start with!

This is sweet Avery girl touching her toes into salty seawater for the first time ever! {Look at how I managed to get her little foot trying to test it…that was pure luck but an amazing capture!!} Let me just tell you, if I had video to go along with this, you would hear the sweetest, most genuine belly laugh ever! Unlike our high maintenance Gentry girl who sat covered up in the stroller the entire time, Avery ADORED the beach!!

I have so, so much more to share about our trip, but for tonight I am signing off!! We got home Saturday night but we were gone all day yesterday at an air show and birthday party and today was spent trying to get laundry done and the house put back together!! As you can imagine, I am worn out!!

This is why you haven’t heard much from me lately…

{And yes I realize that my eye is half way cut off and that my arm is all crazed and cutting across Huntler’s neck in a weird position, but I LOVE this image!! I want it framed!!}

I am trying really hard to get my priorities back in check and there simply isn’t enough of me to go around. So for now my blog is taking the back burner while my sweet babes get the mommy they deserve!

We have played games, done puzzles, built towers, rode bikes, played outside, had picnics…all sorts of fun stuff! I find I am a MUCH better mama when I remember to simplify and that life in fact will go on whether I post or not!!

There also happen to be some {major} changes taking place behind the scenes with my new photography biz and that is taking up my free time! It just seems that my “free time” is less right now as I reevaluate my life!!

So with that, I am heading back over to build block towers with my cutie boy before his sassy sister wakes up and knocks ‘em over!

I KNOW I haven’t posted in days!! Things here are just a tad on the crazy side lately, but I’ll be back in a couple of days and hopefully back on track!! Hope you’ll stick around!!

I am absolutely exhausted tonight, but I figured if I didn’t post before bed I may not get to until tomorrow night!!

So, this is going to be a post of few words and few pictures…just popping in to say HI!

Sunday we were out and I found THE prop of the century! To say that I was thrilled is about the understatement of the year!

This is my fabulous new trunk!! I found it at Home Goods…it was the only one and there was no arguing with me on this baby…I WAS getting it!! I may have actually squealed out loud in the car once we had it loaded? The top completely comes off so other goodies can be stored inside! The kids love it!! And they both fit quite comfortably in it…their idea, not mine! I did snap a couple of them laying on top, but Gentry’s nose was gross and Huntler, well, Huntler was wearing red today {totally clashed} and let’s face it, this is for girls! So since I am tired tonight I am not going to edit snotty little noses!!

I am going to get some pink and brown tulle and make a tutu to match so it can be used in client photo shoots!! I am thinking once I have that tutu made I am going to take Gentry out in the desert somewhere with some “good” cacti and do a photo shoot!! Have to get to that in the next few weeks before it starts getting hot down here!!

I will leave you with this little pucker face! I sat her in my other new prop {more pics of it to come later…she was so upset I put the camera up for the night after this!} and quite obviously, she hated it! I hope other kids like it!!

Look at her wispy hair!! In case you are wondering, I did sharpen this image for the web but I erased over her hair…THAT is how it looked out of the camera!!

There is a reason I never have expectations for my kids when I take their pictures. There is a reason I let them be and don’t try too hard to pose or position them. There is a reason I follow their lead and take what I can get. That reason is my sanity!!

All I wanted was to get some super cute shots of Gentry in this adorable little headband yesterday. That is ALL I wanted. Granted, she didn’t feel good. She was whiny and cranky. She is Gentry and is as opinionated as can be. And although I am not proud to admit this, she can be downright hateful and mean too. If she doesn’t want to cooperate, she simply won’t.

Take potty training for example. We had her completely potty trained months ago. As in she was wearing panties all over the place and it was no big deal. The one day she just decided she wasn’t going to cooperate anymore. So she had accident after accident after accident and I, being the stay at home mom, cleaned up accident after accident after accident. I tried to tough it out. I mean, surely she would get sick and tired of being wet and yucky before too long. Turns out, I got tired of washing loads of towels and princess panties before she got tired of being wet.

So here we are in March and she is still in pull ups. Or “poo-dups” as she calls them! I can’t tell you how many times she has asked us, “Potty in my poo-dup?” As in, do we care if she potties in her pull up. To be honest, more often than not I tell her to just do it. We used to tell her “No, go potty on your potty chair,” but she would simply yell and scream and throw a huge fit. So there you have it…she is most definitely cute, but she is sassy beyond belief!! I KNOW that having opinions and being assertive will be such a great trait for her to have when she is say, 19, but right now it is exhausting!!

Anyway, I tried so hard to get some pics of her yesterday and she just wasn’t having it! This is the best one I got!! And it did turn out pretty cute if I do say so myself…I just wanted more!! I am LOVING that bright green dress and those rainbow Baby Legs!! And don’t even get me started on that headband!! It is so over the top and fabulous I could just squeal!

Before I get to the headband, would you believe it if I told you I bought that dress at Wal Mart of all places? For $5.00? Yep…I did!! And this one too!! So while I do like a lot of rather expensive stuff, mostly I just like cute!! And cute this is!! I think she needs it in more colors now!!

Now isn’t that headband about the cutest thing you have ever seen?! My friend Julie is making them and has quite a selection in her Etsy shop! You should seriously go check them out!! I want one in every color for Gentry!!

And speaking of Gentry…she is laying across my lap as I type. I had her back in to see the doctor today. She is still running a fever and is having a hard time kicking this stuff. She is SO warm on me right now and her cheeks are really rosey. The pediatrician said not to give her Tylenol or Motrin and that the fever meant she was trying to kick this junk. Well, she just had some Tylenol. She obviously doesn’t feel well…

Huntler is sound asleep on my bed. He too is still recovering! He was so, so, so sick that his little body is really needing rest. You know he is sick when days and days go by without so much mentioning his trains!!

And there you have it! The not so interesting saga of our lives!!

So this guy is finally on the mend. I wouldn’t say he is feeling wonderful by any stretch of the imagination, but I know he is feeling better and getting better! What a difference a day makes!

So my last post had us home from Urgent Care and Huntler sleeping. Well, that certainly didn’t last long! At 11:00 PM he was awake and once again burning up. I have taken that child’s temperature so many times in the last three days I couldn’t tell you what it was if I wanted to, but it was consistently between 104 and 105. So, we threw him in his third freezing cold bath in 24 hours. As you can imagine, he was hysterical and it was NOT a fun situation. But it did cool him down a bit. After that we had cold cloths and ice on him still trying to get his fever down. We all fell asleep as the cold stuff surrounded him! Anyway, I woke back up at 1:30 and he was once again on fire. This time the thermometer read 105.3. I panicked. I mean, we had been giving him dose after dose after dose of Tylenol and Motrin as well as cold baths and cool rags on his head and NOTHING was working. So I got myself somewhat ready and hauled him to the ER.

We have only been to the ER one other time and that was nearly four years ago. We lead a relatively calm life around here and trips to the doctor and ER are very few and far between! So anyway, by the time I got him there and they took his vitals, his temp was down to 101.5. Go figure. I KNOW they thought I was overreacting, but Chris and I were both very worried about the fact that we could NOT get his fever under control. We would so much rather error on the side of caution. And this whole time all I could think about was my friend Lisa and how she had JUST told me last week about two little boys who had died from Influenza A. Things can turn dangerous in a heartbeat.

Anyway, they gave him a dose of Tylenol and when after 40 minutes that had done nothing to lower his temp, they gave him a dose of Ibuprofen. I am really not sure how safe that is, but they did it. And his temperature finally started to come down. They made us wait until it was under 101 to let him go.

So there is that little bit of drama for ya!! He slept in until 10:00 yesterday morning and woke up much cooler!! I was so excited when all day his temp was only reading between 100 and 101!! By the late afternoon he wasn’t feverish at all. Thank goodness!

Both kids continue to have nasty coughs and are just worn down. Heck, I am worn down too and could really use a LONG nap!! I am just so glad that we seem to be through the worst of this and am hoping by the end of the weekend they are both completely back to normal!!

In other news, late last night {or early, early this morning!!} I finished up my first blog design customer!! YAY!! Well, I should say “we” finished it up!! I did all the design but Chris is the computer whiz and did the html aspect! Anyway, it really came together and turned out so cute!!

Here is Amanda’s new header! Click on over to see the rest of her design!!

On that note, if anyone else is up for a makeover, let me know!! Or, if you don’t have a blog yet but want one and don’t know where to start, I can get you up and running! I LOVE the design aspect!! As I was working last night I kept second guessing my decision to move everything to one blog through Hissyfits because I am truly going to miss switching up my design every so often!! Decisions, decisions!!!

And I am off! I probably won’t be back until Monday. Since this past week was so crazy I didn’t have much of a chance to get some things done that I need to get done and need to spend my free time working and getting things accomplished!

Happy Weekend!

From kisses to coughs, these two share everything. Well, either that or they are fighting like cats and dogs! But for the sake of this post, we are talking about sharing! Anyway, this time it isn’t so great.

We got home from Urgent Care about an hour ago. We have two sick kids…one VERY sick little boy. Huntler has pneumonia {really bad} and Gentry is borderline. I guess that explains the 103 – 105 degree temperature we could NOT get down. I mean, I obviously know he is very sick, but I never in my wildest dreams would have thought he had pneumonia.

So, one doctors visit, four ice cream cones and $80 worth of medicine later, that is the story! Huntler is already asleep again tonight and Gentry will probably be heading there soon! I have made a super cozy little pallet on our bedroom floor all nice and comfy for our two little sickies! Huntler has been sleeping with us the last few nights, but I need them both close tonight.

And there you have it…I have never been so glad that Gentry demanded to go anywhere as I was tonight! I thought I was just taking Huntler but then she “insisted” on going and Chris felt like he needed to be with us, so we all went. Had she not gone, we wouldn’t have been able to have her checked out, and therefore no medicine.

After yet another long day around here, I am heading to bed!! Thanks for keeping Huntler in your thoughts!!

We are on our way…Chris is getting Huntler out of the tub now. His second cold bath in the last two hours…we can NOT get his temperature down. He has had both Tylenol AND Ibuprofen. I don’t mind taking him…I am just so worried they will have to draw his blood since we can’t seem to get him well.

I’ll keep ya’ll posted.