Hissyfits Photography Blog

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?

I know my blog posts have been fewer and further between lately…so much for my goal of posting every.single.day. HA! I feel like I am doing good to get a post up a week these days. Some weeks are easier than others for sure! I have no idea how I am going to keep up once the baby gets here! Maybe by then I’ll be able to stay up past 7:45 at night?

Anyway, I have had this post on my mind forever and am finally getting around to putting it together! My aunt just opened an Etsy shop {named after her first granddaughter, Ansley Jane} and has some darling goodies for sale! If you have something specific in mind that you don’t see, you can totally contact her and see what you can work out! Tell her I sent you!!

As many of you know, I have a “thing” for sweets and these cupcake and gumball machine bloomers are beyond cute!! And at only $12.50 a pair…that is a STEAL friends!!

And these? Wouldn’t these ladybugs have been PERFECT for Gentry’s first birthday?

And these? LOVE them!!

And since we don’t all obviously have girls, she has some cute creations for little guys too! This elephant is too cute for words!

This is just a small sampling of what she can do! Head on over and check her shop out! You won’t be disappointed!

Today is the last day to sign up for the special I am offering! Just $299 for 25 digital images and 4 x 6 prints of each!! The session must take place sometime in April!

I’ll be back for sure – I have at least two sessions to blog today! Happy Wednesday!

Happy HAPPY Tuesday! Spring has sprung down here in the desert and I thought this week I would share some of my oh-so fun, spring-like Etsy finds! FINDS - not purchases! I could spend $500 a day on Etsy for weeks on end and still find things that I wanted! I have been good though, really good, and exerting extreme self control!

{I apologize in advance that the images are going to be tiny and not centered. The whole not centered thing REALLY drives me crazy! Maybe I can get Chris to fix that for me!}

1. This quilt. I adore it. I have the scrapbook paper line that matches the prints on this fabric! It is what I used for Gentry’s second birthday and I have a stash {of paper} I am holding on to just because I like it! You know, I refuse to cut into it because I “might” need it someday? Please tell me I am not the only one who does that!

2. This dress. Ahhh the vintage color combo and prints! I can totally imagine my favorite girl dolled up in this little number. I can picture the perfect photo shoot. Vintage props. Summer time in Kansas. Bare feet. Wheat fields swaying in the background. Blue skies laced with puffy white clouds above. And a headband similar to the Cage Veils found here. Total vintage summer scene playing out in my mind…

And I ordered it. But I’ll be making my own headband because there is NO WAY I am paying as much for a hair accessory as I did for the dress! I am going to save it for her 4 year photos which I PLAN to take in Kansas! I have this “idea” in my mind that we will load up our little fam and travel back to visit everyone shortly after the baby is born! Crazy? Yes, probably. Does anyone in their right mind pack a five and a half year old, an almost four year old and a brand new baby into a mini van and drive 18 hours across the United States? Maybe we should fly. Mom – I think we are definitely going to need that vintage baby bed with some “quilt” type thing ready to be hauled out in the country somewhere! Maybe a piece of chenille that we can dye a light aqua? Can’t you just picture it? I can!

3. The ever cute ruffle pants. I’m addicted. Big time. I am going to learn to sew these if it kills me. Yes, you read that right. I DESPERATELY want to learn to make these on my own!! They make the cutest boutique looking little outfits but also darling pajama pants!! {When my grandparents were visiting last week my Grandma made Gentry some Fancy Nancy capri pajama pants that are too cute for words!} I want to find some cute princess, Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Bright fabric to make some more jammie pants out of!

4. This fabric. Current favorite color combo – I think!!

5.  Adorable unique buttons! I am not even really sure what I would do with these if I had them, but they sure are fun to look at!! I admire people who have the talent to do this sort of detailed work!

6. This hat. I LOVE these hats!! I would order one today if I knew if we were having a boy or a girl! I think it would be a fun addition to its newborn photos and birth announcements! But we don’t know and I’m not ordering!

7. These bloomers. Ooooooohhhhh these bloomers. And about ten other uber cute sets! I have got to get some ordered to have on hand for a prop because OH how I adore them! I have had this shop bookmarked for a long time but by the time I found it, Gentry was already what I consider too big for bloomers!

8.  This cute hair clip. Lots of cute funky clips in this shop! This one would be perfect for Gentry’s upcoming penguin party! Since I won’t be paying $8.50 per girl, maybe I can figure out how to make something myself!

9. This print. I have “something” for retro motor bikes like this! I am not really sure why, but I think they are fun!

10. These burp cloths. I love the airy, light feel of the prints and that they could be used for either a boy or a girl!

Yes, I spend FAR too much time browsing Etsy. I will be the first to admit it. It is by far my favorite place to shop!! Well, for Gentry and myself anyway! As you can tell, I don’t find a lot of things that would be cool for a five year old boy! There is so, so much talent out there – it’s amazing! And inspiring and depressing at the same time!

It was one of those weeks. Not a bad one by any means, but one where I found my mind constantly drifting to Kansas and wishing. Wishing, wishing, wishing. Wishing we were there now. Wishing we could go back for Easter. Wishing we were close enough for me to load up and visit my mom over a weekend and make bits of crafty fun for a craft fair she is taking part in in May. Wishing we would be back and settled in time to have the baby. Lots of wishing – and all for things that aren’t going to happen.

As I type, tears flood my eyes. I’m not sure why really, but they do. It isn’t as though I am miserable…I’m not. Each day I have a lot of love and happiness in my life. A lot of things to be grateful for and smile about. Yet with every fiber of my being, I want out of here. I so desperately want to be where I consider home.

I have been completely and totally uninspired this week – in everything. I have taken photos, but each time I go to edit them, I get frustrated and quit. I attempted to sew burp cloths for the baby and once again got frustrated and quit. Same with designing the birth announcements. It seems as though everything I touch I hate. I know everyone gets into funks and has off weeks, and this was one for me.

We DID do all sorts of fun stuff {picked out fish, took Gentry to get her nails done at the salon, went to a spring training baseball game}, yet deep down I am simply unmotivated. I am hoping that next week brings a change of heart and pace around this house!

Here is a shot of me and Gentry girl after she had her fingers and toes painted Wednesday morning at the salon {which she loved but the workers were SOOO rude!}.

Off to put my littles in the tub – for the second time today. They have been playing hospital and have marker {blood} ALL over their faces and bodies!! It does look pretty cute, but they want it off!

It’s March!! Crazy. But such a FUN month ahead!! And that much closer to meeting our baby too!! YAY! No pics today – just a quickie! I am in super cleaning mode and heading out to shoot around with my photographer friend this afternoon! Her little guy just turned one and we are meeting up and I get to take some photos of him!

1. Huntler worries about our baby getting smashed.  I don’t think I have shared this yet? Anyway, several weeks ago we were at Target and I squeezed myself between the cart and the counter to pay. It was a tight fit and I said, “Wow! I think I just smashed the baby!” He instantly puckered up and was fighting tears. He is definitely our sensitive child. Anyway, I explained to him that the baby was fine and I was only teasing. Goodness – I will never say anything like that in front of him again! He was crushed! So now every time he accidentally pushes on my stomach or something, he panics. “Is the baby okay? Did I smash it? I didn’t hurt it, did I?” He is so protective already. I look at him and I know we are doing something right.

2. And then there is Gentry. My word that child challenges us, especially me, daily. She is as cute and sweet as can be, but she is opinionated beyond belief. I am in the middle of reading this book right now. Hopefully I can get some control back without breaking her spirit.

3. I am finding it harder and harder to get down on the ground to take photos. Well, not on the ground necessarily, but flat on my stomach. I LIKE to lay flat on my stomach when I take picutres of the kids…now I am learning to lay on my side and look like a fish out of water or something un-natural! It isn’t pretty {or comfortable}, I can assure you of that!

4. I have given up on creating our birth announcements…for now. I desperately want to learn design, I do, but my plate is so full right now. I have so many things on my “to do” list that I am afraid I would spend 60 hours working on learning something and still not love what I created. Sooo, I have decided that I can in fact wait until the baby is here and have Chris (the design whiz!) help me! Or just do it. He’ll be home for a week or two after we have the baby and that will be top priority! Plus, this way we’ll only have to design one and not two!

5. I took Gentry to the dentist yesterday. For the THIRD time. I have a whole post I am hoping to get to one of these days, but  for now I’ll leave it at that she FINALLY cooperated and there were NO tears. And no cavities. It’s a miracle! I can not even begin to tell you how completely and utterly thrilled I am to have that behind us for another six months!

6. I am super stoked about getting to take this online workshop starting at the end of April. Happy 30th birthday to me!! It is two months and runs through the end of June so I am sure I’ll miss the tail end, but I am confident I can work ahead and get what I need to from it!! Between Kamee’s workshop in just three weeks {EEEK! I am so pumped!} and this one at the end of April, if I don’t take my photography to the next level, then there is seriously something wrong with me!!

7. I will never eat bagged salad again. EVER. Do you guys eat it? We did all the time. It’s easy. It’s good. It’s convenient. And then I heard something on the news that I did NOT want or need to hear and from now on, I am going to MAKE every salad I eat!

8. I also have a paranoia about popcorn that you pop in the microwave now. Some other random study I heard on the news one night and now I don’t touch it OR let the kids have it. It totally stinks because I LOVE kettle corn. I mean REALLY, REALLY love it. And you can’t just pop some kettle corn in your air pop popper, ya know?

9. I am still trying to decide how I feel about the way The Bachelor went down last night. I wasn’t a Vienna fan from the very beginning, but maybe there was some selective editing that went on to make her seem worse than she is? Not sure. I DO know that I loved Tenley and hope she finds happiness. As far as Jake and Vienna, I guess we’ll just have to see!

10. And last but not least, KATE GOSSELIN on the next Dancing with the Stars? Seriously? I don’t really watch that show, but now I might?

And on that note, I am outta here! The clock is ticking and I have oodles to get done!

HELLO!! Wow, so it is the LAST Tuesday in February already! I am telling ya, the rate at which life is speeding by me, this baby is going to be here in no time!

So here we go…this week’s edition of Ten on Tuesday.

1. I prefer crushed ice to cubed. Ten times out of ten I will choose crushed if given a choice!

2. I can not stand for lights, radios, fans, televisions – anything of that nature – to be on if it isn’t being used. Our house is super dark at night because the only lights that are ever on are the ones we are using!

3. I can NOT go to sleep to a radio. The TV yes, the radio no. I think my mind tries to follow along with the songs or something and can’t shut off when the radio is on!! I actually prefer to have total silence, but Chris is always up long past me so the TV is always on!

4. Does anyone out there have a Cricut? My mom just got one this past weekend and is having issues getting it to cut felt. Cutting felt is a MUST!! She has to be able to make fab hair creations for her two adorable granddaughters of course! Anyway, any tips from anyone that has one? And yes, I am totally jealous!! I can’t wait to get back to Kansas and help her get her money’s worth out of it!

5. I don’t like pulp in my orange juice. Totally random, yes, but I am having a glass right now.

6. I have a thing for red and turquoise together. LOVE that combo! A lot. So much so that I had a moment of weakness and bought Gentry this pair of pants on Etsy this weekend. I sooo wanted the bird shirt that coordinates with them, but I am going to get her a little red tank and jazz it up instead! I am TOTALLY hooked on these ruffle bottom pants. Like seriously! I am soooo glad that my mom can sew since I can’t!! These and dresses are all she is going to be wearing this summer!

7. Speaking of dresses, I wanted to get this one for her SOOO bad I could taste it! Imagine the photos. She doesn’t like it – at all. I had her with me at Kohl’s twice and tried to talk it up and encourage her and for some reason she just flat doesn’t like it. Believe me, she tells you if she likes and wants something! So, twice I left Kohl’s empty handed! I am still a bit sad, can you tell? But the red and turquoise pants totally cheer me up! {And on a totally hilarious note – Gentry just walked over to the computer to see what I was doing and said, “I don’t want that dress. I don’t.”} Point taken. She is NOT getting the dress, but someone please go get it and then take pictures of your daughter in it and show me!! Or book an appointment and let ME take pictures of your sweet daughter in the fun dress!!

8. I went on a font downloading spree yesterday. It happens from time to time! It all started when I came across this Pea Gentry font. For obvious reasons, I HAD to have it. And then I started looking at others and HAD to have them as well. FABULOUS SITE!! Chris won’t be thrilled. We already had to go through the computer once and delete a bunch of them because they take up so much space!! Luckily, we deleted a bunch of the duds that came on the computer and not my fun ones!!

9. A sweet friend shared with me a blog this past weekend. It breaks my heart and inspires me all at the same time. This is the first post I read. I cried my way through it and found myself going back in time and reading, reading, reading. The photos. The story. The writing. Writing so real and so raw it rocks you to the core. The kind of writing I wish I made time to do more often. The kind of writing that will forever leave an impression.

10. I realized this morning that we are two months away from living in this house the same amount of time we lived in our house in Kansas City for. Crazy.

And that’s it for today!! Happy Tuesday!!

Did you notice I skipped this last week? I was feeling slightly overwhelmed by the massive amount of photos of my kids to sift through, edit and blog that I just nixed it in favor of posting photos of sweet Huntler! But I’m back this week and ready to roll!

So let’s get this party started, shall we?

1. Today is our sonogram. Or sonic-gram as Huntler says! I absolutely cannot wait to see our little babe! And I better not get a peek at what we are having either! After buying all of this gender neutral stuff and TWO baby blankets {which are soooo darn cute I want to scream!}, we do NOT want to know!! The kids, especially Huntler, are thrilled. He is so excited about having a baby around the house he can hardly stand it! I KNOW he is going to be such a great helper and a wonderful big brother to this little one!

2. While I was in Barnes and Noble this weekend I decided to take just a little peek into a baby name book to see if our names are in there. Surprisingly, the boy name is not. And the girl name {which I totally thought I was being super original on and created myself but have now seen TWICE in the blog world} was. Hmmm…

3. Huntler saw the luge accident on the news Friday night. Super sensitive, very aware, caring Huntler. I had NO idea it was going to be shown and had no time to react. Now, how do you explain that to a five year old?

4. If you have a daughter, I highly suggest you avoid the girls clothing section at Target at ALL costs. Seriously. Don’t even tempt yourself. There is an insane amount of cuteness there right now! Now their boy selection? I wasn’t so impressed. However, the boy department at Gap Kids is calling my name!

5. Remember Kamee’s workshop that I blogged about a few days ago? Yep – still SUPER stoked to be going and totally thrilled that a friend I made through my blog is flying out to stay with us a couple of nights and come too! Seriously, this is better than Christmas Eve for a child! I am on cloud nine and cannot wait for that weekend!!

6. I have this sneaking suspicion that our washing machine is about to go out on us. Something about the HORRID noise it makes when the clothes are spinning tells me that things are not good.

7. The Bachelor. Did you watch it last night? Crossing my fingers Tenley is his final choice!

8. My sister just enrolled my niece in soccer. It really has me thinking that we have got to get Huntler involved in SOMETHING. I am very much not a fan of organized sports at an early age, but he is FIVE now. As social as can be but not so coordinated! It would be VERY good for him! And if you are thinking that Gentry is in dance and she is only three, you are correct. She is. Our main goal with that was to get her into something for socialization because she is so very clingy to me. However…when I think of cute little knee socks and headbands, I could totally see her as a little soccer girl too!

9. I think we have FINALLY made some headway with Gentry and the dentist. Ever since Huntler’s four cavity experience a few weeks ago, we have been AVID brushers and flossers with the kids. As in we haven’t missed a beat!! It only took four cavities and a screaming Gentry to get us there, but hey, we made it. Chris is in charge of brushing and flossing at night. I get the kids up, fed, bathed, dressed, teeth brushed and hair fixed every.single.day. That’s fine. That’s my job. But by 7:30 at night, I am done. I am tired beyond belief and just don’t have it in me. So we just didn’t brush their teeth at night. Simple as that. Am I proud of that? No, of course not. But I am keeping it real. Anyway, the new rule is that Chris brushes and flosses them each night. Gentry is getting used to it and doing great with the flossing. {We should have bought those little things they make especially for kids LONG ago!!} So we brought up the dentist again over the weekend and she says she is fine with going…so long as we don’t go back to the same one she has been to already. Deal. We can so work with that. However, I am slightly freaking out because we can see cavities in her teeth. Not good. And I got even more freaked out when a friend emailed me and said that her daughter had to have a crown put on one of her baby teeth because they waited too long to take her in. But I was also somewhat relieved to know that we are not the only parents who have a screaming child who hates the dentist and therefore put off going and ended up with issues! Crossing my fingers Gentry’s can be dealt with easily but I am also aware of the fact that it could ALWAYS be worse! Plus, we are doing everything right now so at least we are getting on track – better late than never!!

10. That’s all I’ve got for now! Chat later my friends!!