Hissyfits Photography Blog

For months now I have thought it would be super fun to set up a little contest for all of those interested to log their thoughts on “what” they think this baby is and when it will make its grand entrance! Now that I am over 35 weeks, I decided it is time to create the game and get this party started!

Let me preface this with some information. When I was at the doctor on Friday, I had not started to dilate at all. Despite the tons and tons and tons of contractions I have been having, nothing is happening.

As far as my guess goes, I say girl simply because the vast majority of people I talk to think it is a boy!! I have had dreams where it has been a boy and dreams where it has been a girl, so in the spirit of fun, my guess is girl! There is no intuition or anything like that, simply a good old fashioned guess!

And the weight? That number popped up in one of those aforementioned dreams! Because someone will want to be scientific in their guess, I’ll go ahead and share that Huntler was 6 pounds and 11 ounces and Gentry was 7 pounds and 8 ounces. I gained less weight with Huntler than I did with Gentry. And I have gained more weight with this baby than I did with Gentry. And the nurses and doctor are all convinced it is big! {I weighed 9 pounds and 2 ounces so I am bracing myself!!}

Length? Total guess. And no, I cannot remember how long Huntler or Gentry were!

And the birthdate. My actual due date is July 1. Huntler was 8 days early on his own and I was induced 5 days early with Gentry. Once I reach 36 weeks, they will let me deliver whenever I happen to go into labor. Obviously, I am hoping for sooner rather than later on that one! Anyway, originally I picked June 20th as my “perfect delivery date,” but I moved it up to June 10th!! I will be 37 weeks on the 10th. Chris, Huntler and Gentry all have birthdays that fall on the 20th or 30th of the month – and I just think it would be fun for this baby to have a birthday that fell on a date that ended in “0″ too. If the 10th comes and goes and no Baby Thumper, then I am aiming for the 20th!! It happens to be Father’s Day this year too!

So there is that. I should also say that Chris is not guessing a gender. He doesn’t want to. But because you can’t leave that part empty, we just left it with the default of “boy.” Huntler and Gentry picked most of their stats on their own. Huntler thinks this is one big baby!!

For those of you whom I don’t know playing along, be sure to leave your first name and last initial and put “blog reader” or something to that effect in your entry!! Hopefully that way when we figure out who wins, it won’t be super confusing!! I’ve never done this before so you’ll have to bear with me!

Alright…so here is the link:

ExpectNet

Our game is called: LittleGrahamCracker

I am pretty sure you have to register in order to participate, but it is super easy!! Let me know if you are trying to play but can’t figure it out and I will gladly help you get going!

Now…I was NOT going to post this photo because I really, really do NOT like it, but the truth of the matter is that I am too tired {lazy?} to put on a cute outfit and redo it. So this is it. And to be honest, this is totally keeping it real. I have bought like one maternity skirt and two shirts and that is it…along with a few things my mother in law ordered for me. Seriously. I have been wearing regular clothes pretty much my entire pregnancy. It is more than obvious from this photo with a good chunk of my stomach showing!! But it is hot. The kids don’t care. Chris doesn’t care. We see no one most days. And I do NOT dress like this to go out in public…I do try to make sure that most of my stomach is covered!

This was taken at 35 weeks and 1 day.

And what fun is a contest without a little prize package? With the help of my super talented mom and sweet friend Julie, I have created a fun little gift for the winner of this! I did in fact take individual photos of each item, but I am once again too lazy tired to edit each and every one…so this is going to have to work! Plus, I am neither good at nor enjoy taking photos of “things!”

Yes, most of the items are girly. It is so much harder to make boy things – that is the only reason!!

So here is what the winner gets:

TWO fabulous “Messy Pins” made by my uber talented friend Julie! She is in the process of switching her shop over from Etsy, but here is the link to her new locale! She hasn’t added much yet, but I am sure if you don’t win and really, really want a messy pin or clip or headband {we have TONS of headbands and LOVE them!!}, she’ll totally hook you up! Just tell her I sent you!

My super crafty and creative mom whipped up some goodies of her own! The little white top is absolutely DARLING!! It is a lap shirt made by Gerber and is size 0 – 3 months! I can’t believe how tiny it is! She stitched cute rick rack all around it!

She also sent the cute little monkey burp cloth – it has an equally cute pattern on the back {which you would be able to see if I had the energy to post more pics!} and is made of flannel.

The magnet clips are just that – magnet clips.

And under those magnet clips? A set of three girly washcloths. They are made from different flannel prints and have terrycloth on the back! DARLING!! It has been hard for her not knowing what we are having because she can’t make anything up yet! Anyway, if you see something from her goodies you have to have, shoot me an email and I can help you out!

And of course I added a couple of my own pieces! The headband and the two yo yo hair clips! They are on alligator clips. I have about 50 of the yo yo’s made and ready to go, but once again, I am just lacking ALL motivation to complete them. So, if you love them, I am sorry but I am just not in the mindset to be crafty these days! My time is spent soaking up my little loves before our world is rocked and resting!

Whew! So there is that! This is ONE prize – winner gets all! Obviously it isn’t stuff that everyone could use, but if you win, take what you want and share the rest!!

And thanks again Mom and Julie for your additions!!

Have fun!! I can’t wait to see everyone’s guesses!!

As temperatures climb into the upper 90′s in our little corner of the world, we find ourselves spending LOTS of time inside! Sure, we could be out at the splash parks or trolling the mall, but let’s face it, at this stage in my pregnancy, the mere thought of having to sunscreen the kids from head to toe and then drive to the splash park and sit in the heat is less than appealing. Not to mention the fact that if the bathroom wasn’t unlocked or out of order I would be in a real jam if you know what I mean!! And the mall? I am pretty sure it doesn’t count as “rest” to be out roaming around the stores. Plus, I like to buy, not window shop. There is absolutely nothing we need at this point so I would just be wasting money. And so we find things to occupy our time at home.

Yesterday? Well yesterday I told the kids to jump on Huntler’s bed so I could take pictures! I have seen so many cute jumping photos and read bits and pieces about capturing kids in their bedrooms because a room says so much about who they are. I am not sure that really counts when your kids are five and three and you {as the parent} have chosen the theme and done the decorating, but hey, we only have a handful of photos that even show a glimpse of their rooms, so I thought it would be a fun idea!

Gentry is a jumper. I mean a real jumper. And sweet Huntler? Well, he tried for sure and that has to count for something, right? They were having so much fun, but as with everything, Gentry took control and stole the show. She insisted on me taking a ton of photos of her and then when I told her that her turn was over, she still managed to find a way into most of Huntler’s shots. She dominates and there is just no way around that.

I will preface this with that even in the midday sunlight, the lighting in this house is not that great! I had to max out my settings on this set of photos…my ISO was at 3200 and my aperture was at 1.4 in order to keep my shutter speed fast enough to freeze at least a little motion! For those of you who have no clue what any of that means, it basically means that the photos are super noisy {grainy} and not crystal clear! Noise is hard for me, but I am trying to embrace it in these!!

Check out the hair!! Holy moly! I love this shot!!

YAY! Huntler did manage to get some height in a few! Not exactly in focus, but a fun shot anyway!

So that was our fun yesterday. I am learning that if we are going to be home so much, I am going to have to let go – a lot. That is hard for me because I can’t stand messes and clutter, but there is NO way we can possibly spend most of our days inside and NOT have messes. My kids are good, but they DO like to play and get stuff out! Today includes a trip to the movie theatre to pick up summer movie passes and then popping into Sonic to cash in on those Happy Hour drinks we all love!

Happy Thursday!

Wow…I feel like I JUST published my last Ten on Tuesday post!! I can’t believe that was a week ago already! Considering I am supposed to be taking it easy and not tearing through the house with the sweeper in one hand and a toilet wand in the other, I have a little more time to update my lovely blog here! Not that I have much to say because since we aren’t doing much, there isn’t much to blog about!!

So here we go…

1. I did not get Chris an anniversary card. I realized late in the afternoon that I didn’t have one in my “stash.” So I emailed him that I am a loser wife who doesn’t even have an anniversary card for my husband. I also referred to myself as lame in the same email. He wrote back that he didn’t have one for me either so he was equally as lame. We called it even – no cards!

2. I am not a fan of flowers. I think they are a waste of money actually. I would prefer to have something that lasts more than three days. A plant you ask? No. Not a plant either. We have seen MANY plants come and go in this house. I can’t keep them alive. We are currently down to one…and a teeny little cactus that sits on our kitchen counter. I am waiting on the said plant to just go ahead and die so we’ll be down to none!

3. Taking it easy is about the most impossible task ever. I am not cut out to sit and rest. I didn’t realize how much I really do during the day and that I must pick up for 5 hours and clean for another 3. It’s insane.

4. Next week is Huntler’s LAST week of preschool. Then we’ll have a kindergartner on our hands. And a preschooler. And a new baby.

5. Have you seen the commercial for the new Birthday Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches? I saw it last week and have been craving them ever since!

6. We bought Moon Sand over the weekend for the first time. Actually, Gentry bought it with her allowance. Have you ever had that stuff? M*E*S*S*Y!! By the time it was all said and done, Chris had to haul the sweeper out and spent 15 minutes sucking up pink and yellow grit from the tile!

7. Huntler bought a new chapter book with his allowance. He was sooooo excited to take his money up to the register and pay!! He is going to be through the entire series of books before July rolls around at this rate!

8. Gentry’s birthday invite is really coming together cute! I can’t do it all this year so I am using a designer on Etsy who is totally rocking it!! SOOO happy with how it is coming along! I’ll DEFINITELY share her name and more later!

9. Anyone familiar with Batman? That’s the theme Huntler has chosen for his party this year. I am clueless when it comes to Batman. So is he. He just heard that someone else had that kind of party and now wants it. Although I wasn’t thrilled with Madagascar, at least I have seen it 100 times and could create a cute party around the theme!!

10. ANOTHER one of our neighbors is moving. We have seen SOOO many people come and go on this block in our 3 1/2 years here it isn’t even funny. I am trying not to be bitter, but praying that our turn is coming up soon.

Seven years ago today we got married…

My how time has flown…

A quick update – I posted on FB a ton yesterday so all of my FB friends were in the loop as the drama unfolded, but here is a recap of our day yesterday for everyone else, and for myself to look back on and read one day when all of this becomes just a blur!

It started out as a typical Friday around here. Get up. Eat breakfast. Check Facebook. Check emails. Check blogs. Take a shower. Get ready. Get the kids ready. Send Huntler off to school. Make beds. Do laundry. Pick up. The same stuff I do every morning. Throw in my 33 week doctor’s appointment and it was just another Friday morning.

On the drive to the doctor’s office I noticed I was having stronger than normal contractions and they were coming often. I was probably having them all morning since I had a few Thursday night that took my breath away, but in the hustle and bustle of the morning and my refusal to sit still for five minutes {I am NOT a good rester}, I didn’t notice until I was strapped in the car and forced to sit! I did notice that my stomach was tight and crampy, but once I sat I could tell that I was having consistent contractions. While sitting in the waiting room I continued to contract so I decided I should probably tell my doctor since I was there anyway. However, there was no need to tell her because as soon as I pulled my shirt up for her to check the baby’s heart rate and measure my ever growing belly, she could see me contracting.

On the bright side, at least I wasn’t over-reacting and imagining it! To be safe, she went ahead and checked me. I wasn’t dilating yet. That was a good sign. So she sent me home to drink water and rest and gave me instructions to head in to labor and delivery if they didn’t stop in 2 to 3 hours so they could hook me up to monitors and see what was going on. Two hours later, I finally made it home. Since I was out anyway, I had to mail off a client order at the post office, get a Sonic drink, stop at Chris’ office, pick up Huntler and then swing through the drive thru at McDonald’s. See, I am not a good rester!! Anyway, once we were home, I did as told. I guzzled water and laid in bed watching cartoons for over three hours while I updated Facebook from my phone and willed my contractions to stop. But they weren’t going anywhere! And so I called Chris…

Gentry girl was already in her jammies of course so in the midst of contractions that hurt so bad I could barely walk, I had to get her dressed and ready, along with myself. And we were off to meet Chris at the hospital. Yes, we took the kids. I really didn’t even want Chris or the kids to go, I was fine with going on my own, but he insisted that he be there. Anyway, they got me into triage right away and started hooking me up and things moved quickly! I was contracting every 2 – 3 minutes so they immediately gave me a shot of Terbutaline. And although I wasn’t dehydrated, the doctor on call preferred to error on the side of caution and ordered me to be hooked up to an IV and get fluids. Turns out it didn’t hurt anything and was probably good because that way I had to be there longer and they could monitor my contractions.

After I received the first shot and was hooked up to the IV, Chris and the kids left to go eat and piddle around for a bit. They stopped back by an hour and a half later or so to check on me and then headed home. They were totally fine there, but bored. I know there is no way we can take them with us when I go into labor and actually have this baby, but everything yesterday worked out fine!

Long story short, the first shot stopped them but only for about 20 minutes. So then came shot number two. I was STILL contracting more than they were comfortable with so I received shot number three!! At that point I had received the maximum they could give me but luckily they FINALLY stopped! I was checked twice while there and didn’t dilate any which was also a good sign.

No one really knows why I was having all of these uncontrollable contractions, but chances are this baby is going to come early. It just needs to wait until 37 weeks!!

Anyway, after about three hours in the hospital I was back at home and watching Friday Night Lights by 7:45!! I was shaky and wound up from the meds, but fine. They did not put me on any kind of restrictions, but I know I have to take it easy and be smart. So here is to being as relaxed as I can and not overdoing it!!

I left mine yesterday…I shot Huntler in FULL SUN. That’s right. Two thirty in the afternoon and not a speck of shade! I avoid the sun at all costs {and not just when it comes to picture taking!!} but part of the assignment for the workshop I am in required us to get out and shoot in full sun. And so I did it, with the assistance of my trusty five year old! He was the perfect model for all of five minutes, but it was long enough to get what I needed!

So here is the straight out of camera shot…

And here it is with a bit of post processing. You didn’t think my shots came OUT of the camera looking like this now did you?! I still have room for improvement {as with everything}, but I am super happy with my first ever attempt!!

And that’s it for today! I am 33 weeks today and head back for my regular doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I’ll be sure to update afterwards!

So we don’t have a Sienna, but we DO have a minivan! I saw this on Julie’s blog and had to pass it on! The kids and I were cracking up!

WAHOOO! I’m back!! You would not believe how much more time I feel like I have now that my sessions are all but wrapped up and my focus has changed to “us” instead of work! What a sense of relief I am feeling right now!

With that being said, I am FINALLY back and ready for a “Ten on Tuesday” post!

1. I am officially freezing Chris and the kids out. At 30+ pounds over my normal weight, I am burning up. All the time. When I am pregnant is the ONLY time I am ever hotter than Chris. Most of the time I am freezing…even in the summer. But not right now! I am glad this baby is due early in the summer so my hormones and body will have time to adjust and be back to normal before July and August when it is REALLY hot!

2. I have created Sonic MONSTERS. My extreme love affair with the Route 44 Cranberry Grape slush has rubbed off onto both of my littles. If you happen to hear either one of them talking about Happy Hour, they are referring to the 2:00 – 4:00 time frame where Sonic has all of its drinks half price. If only it weren’t such a chore to load up and make the trek, we would be there EVERY day during Happy Hour! So, it is probably a good thing it takes 15 minutes to get there!!

3. Huntler is consumed with talking about death. It is really stressing me out. And him too. The other night after we had put him to bed he came back to our room to ask what would happen to him if I died. Really? Just as I was typing this post he came over to talk about dying again. I don’t like to even think about this kind of thing, let alone talk about it. And considering it is upsetting him to the point of tears, it isn’t something he should be thinking about or talking about either. Hoping this phase passes and passes quickly.

4. Chris randomly happened across the Top 10 Baby Names of 2009 and offered to let me change my mind to something a LOT more common if I wanted! HA HA HA! He was totally kidding – he likes unique just as much as I do and we are both super excited about the names we have picked out! {Although he totally got the boy middle name wrong when we were talking about it!!}

5. Speaking of the baby, I can NOT wait to find out what it is!! I am soooooo looking forward to that moment when the doctor or Chris or someone tells me “It’s a…” And then we’ll have a name and a face for this crazy little kicking machine!

6. In my need to get things done, we got out the car seat and stroller a few days ago. They are already getting lots of good use. Technology has definitely improved in the last six years!! The car seat slides into and out of the stroller so much easier than our old one!! Not to mention the handle on the car seat is much easier to operate!! It’s the little things that get us all excited!

7. My sassy little fashionista wants to wear pajamas EVERY single day. I haven’t bought anything from Gymboree in forever and really want to get her a couple of things from the new line, but what’s the point? I don’t foresee that we’ll be trekking all over in the 115 degree heat this summer with the baby so I guess jammies are fine. It isn’t like her closet isn’t stuffed to the gills anyway…

On a side note, I FINALLY packed up her long sleeved, fleece and footed pajamas on Friday. THOSE are the ones she really wants to wear all the time! And yes, it is cold inside, but it is well into the 90′s outside!

8. Huntler is having Beach Week at school this week. Next week is Spirit Week. And then comes the time to say goodbye. He has a little graduation ceremony at the end of the month. He is super sensitive so I have a feeling that saying goodbye is going to be a lot hard on him. Hopefully we will be able to keep him distracted since the baby will come soon after that.

9. Gentry’s dance costume is in and darling! We {the parents} have been invited in at the end of class the last three weeks to watch the routine! It is super cute!! Her teacher suggested that we bring in a CD and have the song burnt {burned?} onto that and also to video tape it. Still debating on what to do because she REFUSES to perform in front of us. The only thing that might get her going is that Huntler will do it with her.

10. That’s all I’ve got today!! We are having a lazy day…pizza rolls and pop for lunch and then we watched Madagascar 2. I wore myself with my cleaning binge yesterday and today we are taking it easy! If only it were cool and cloudy it would be perfect!!

I am a perfectionist by nature. Obsessive compulsive? Absolutely. About certain things anyway. Like the kitchen counters can NOT have crumbs on them and the pillows on the couch have to be “just so.” Other things not so much. Like I could care less about the hand prints and water spots all over our stainless steel appliances. Or the two inches of dust that can be found on some of our furniture. It simply doesn’t bother me.

The baby is due in less than eight weeks. Less than seven if I am induced. Less that six if I have my way! And so I find myself in extreme nesting mode. Don’t get me wrong here – not all of my days are spent hopping on top of the dryer with the sweeper in hand sucking up the inches of lint and dust that have accumulated behind it in the past three and a half years {yes, I did that last week} or cleaning mirrors or scrubbing toilets, but I am finding myself feeling this need to have things done. And bought.

I am bound and determined to stay on top of the laundry…all of it. I am trying to do the kids’ once a week. And ours every day. I am super picky about our clothes. I may or may not have even went so far as to email my mom and Chris’ mom last week telling them that should they happen to be here when I am not, please don’t touch the laundry. I have a system and while they would be doing it to be helpful, it would no doubt cause me stress! {Not everything gets dried, the whites get soaked, some stuff gets washed by itself…yes, I have issues!}

And then there is the “stuff.” Not even baby related! We are completely stocked up on paper plates, soap, Kleenex, toothpaste, Mac and Cheese and a variety of other things. I don’t cook. I don’t care about what is in the pantry or fridge, but now I am obsessing! Like someone can’t run to the grocery store or order pizza if they need to?  ;)

Moving on…

It seems as though Summer 2010 is upon us down here in the desert – we had our first swim of the season over the weekend! To say that the kids had a ball doesn’t even begin to do it justice!! I wasn’t out yet when they first got in, but I guess Gentry was pretty timid and clingy. By the time we were ready to come in a couple of hours later, both kids were flying up the stairs and down the slide as fast as their little legs could carry them!

Here are a few snaps from Saturday…

Giving Daddy five as he came down!

The first couple of times she would NOT go down unless Chris was right there to “catch” her. Then she lost her fear. ALL of it. And yes, they both wear life jackets and floaties. Please don’t lecture me on what this is teaching or not teaching them about knowing their body weight in the water. We know. But 99% of the time, Chris is on his own with both kids and can NOT handle them both safely without this stuff!

LOVE LOVE LOVE this shot of Huntler. So him. So cute.

And this last one cracks me up!! Love the crazy hair flying out around her!

And that’s it my friends!

Awhile back someone asked Chris if we had the nursery ready for the baby  yet…

Here is our nursery. Pretty fancy, hunh? I have mellowed a lot in recent years…and I mean A LOT. This would have been completely unacceptable for Huntler or Gentry. But Baby Thumper? Well, this is just the way it is and I am really okay with that. There is no room to decorate. No furniture to assemble. Nothing! The baby will sleep in its super cute Moses Basket by our bed until it is big enough to move to the crib…at which time we will get Gentry a big girl bed. {Don’t panic – she is NOT still sleeping in a crib! Our furniture converts to a toddler sized day bed! But, she doesn’t sleep in it anyway. She prefers a sleeping bag and the floor. Every night.}

We DO have fourth bedroom, but it is our guest room and we don’t want to give it up. Since our family is all so far away, when they come they stay for awhile and they need a space. And I need their stuff nicely tucked away in one room! So for now, this will do!

I am secretly {not so secretly} praying for a miracle that will have us back in Kansas before we have to address any of the room issues anyway!

So this is it. The little bit of space we carved out of our extra coat closet for the baby! Its stuff mixed in with suitcases and our DVD collection! It seems a bit bare, yes, but before too long those empty hangers will be home to all sorts of baby cuteness! And all those burp cloths on the right? My fab friend Julie whipped those up when she came and visited for a couple of days!! And  yes, there are many more girl prints that boy prints. No, I do not know the gender of the baby! I just happen to have a lot more girly fabric and boyish fabric! So, if baby is a boy, I am going to have to make a fabric run to get some more prints! And the ones we don’t use…they’ll become gifts!

Now wasn’t that a fun tour?