Hissyfits Photography Blog

So after what has been a not so fabulous week, I am looking forward to a wonderful weekend! It is easy to get in a rut and feel sorry for myself and gripe and complain because I am in a funk and can’t seem to get my act together. Yet when I snap out of my pity party, I realize how truly blessed I am. Sure, I am entitled to have a yucky day or few days now and then, but I have a LOT to be grateful.

I’ll leave you with a few of the things I am grateful for on this Friday morning! I’m taking the weekend off of blogging but I’ll be back Monday!

• My sweet, sweet husband! For the first time in ages last night we snuggled up and watched a movie and I managed to make it through the ENTIRE thing! We’ve tried before but I can never, ever make it past the first twenty minutes! Last night must have been a good one because I was still wide awake as the credits were rolling! We watched Seven Pounds in case you are curious. It was deep, emotional and not quite what I was expecting, but it sucked us both in!
• Beautiful, happy, healthy kids. They love me no matter what…it just doesn’t get much better than that!
• My health. Although I struggle with the fact that I will never be as toned as I want to be, I have been blessed with a healthy, strong body. I take it for granted and gripe often because it isn’t “perfect,” but the truth of the matter is, it is pretty perfect when you consider what others are fighting daily.
• Friends and family, near and far, who are too sweet for words.

I think we all have a lot to be grateful for! It is easy to think that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but that isn’t always the case! After taking a break from my camera and Photoshop this week, I am feeling inspired again! Hope to get my three loves out this weekend {around water of course!!} and freeze more moments in time!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!!

A few weeks ago my blog friend Denise posted this and I asked her if I could borrow it! And although I laughed when I read some of these, you would be surprised at how much truth there is in this list!

It’s so hot in Arizona that…

• the birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.
• the potatoes cook underground! All you have to do to have lunch is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.
• farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard boiled eggs.
• the cows are giving evaporated milk.
• the trees are whistling for the dogs.
• you no longer associate bridges or rivers with water.
• you can say 113 degrees without fainting.
• you eat hot chilies to cool your mouth off.
• you can make instant sun tea.
• you learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.
• when the temperature drops below 95 you feel a bit chilly. {This one is true for me!!}
• you’ve experienced condensation on your butt from the hot water in the toilet bowl. {Yes, the water is hot enough that you can feel the heat when you open the lid.}
• you would give anything to be able to splash cold water on your face. {I’ve blogged before about how our “cold” water is really warm.}
• you can attend any function wearing shorts and a tank top.
• the four seasons are: Tolerable, Hot, Really Hot and Are You Kidding Me?
• you discover that in July it only takes two fingers to drive a car.
• you discover that you can get a sunburn through your car window.
• you notice the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
• hot water now comes out of both taps.
• it’s noon in July, the kids are on summer vacation and not one person is out on the streets.
• you actually burn your hand opening the car door.
• you break a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 AM before work.
• no one would dream of putting vinyl upholstery in a car or not having air conditioning.
• your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, “What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?”
• you realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
• a sad Arizonan once prayed, “I wish it would rain. Not so much for me because I’ve seen it, but for my seven year old.”

So my good friend Laura is having weekly blog challenges. I took part the first time around but the last couple of times I have been so consumed with everything that I didn’t get a chance to post!! But here I am for this round!

The challenge this week is to share your bedding. We had what I considered this hideous, *too old for us* bedding for nearly FIVE years before we got what we have now!! When we were registering for our wedding, bedding and dishes were the two areas where we did NOT agree! Needless to say, I settled for bedding that I never really liked and finally managed to talk Chris into getting something new last winter!! It’s so fresh and fun!

And this is it. We bought it at  Kohl’s. They have some of the cutest bedding ever in my opinion!! I was just on their site looking around for the link to what we have and found all sorts of other fun sets! We are going to have to redo our room when we move too!! We aren’t taking our bedroom furniture back with us so it is the perfect chance to get something different and get new bedding too! Check out this fun one!! How incredibly cute would that be with huge black and white prints of the kids in red frames?!! EEK!!  And this? Love it too! And this little bit of fun for Gentry? Actually, THIS is what I really want for her room when we move! Maybe I need to list the *old* stuff on Ebay! I can’t really call it old because it hasn’t even been opened, but it isn’t what I want for her! Soft and soothing just doesn’t fit the little miss!! On the bright side, I think just about everything we have as far as decor goes will match perfectly!! That’s a relief!!

And just for giggles, here is the striped wall in our room once we got our pictures hung! These are actually canvas! LOVE THEM!!

Now I need to get! Sassy pants and I have some things to get done before Huntler gets home from school!

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.