Thursday, January 31, 2008

No babies were injured during this photoshoot.



Scatter-brained

So I was supposed to go down to Florida this week to do newborn portraits of my BFF's new baby, K. Well, K is running a little behind schedule and is now overdue, so my trip was cancelled due to her not being available for portraits. For Su's sake, I hope she comes soon, as I know the wretchedness of being Severely Pregnant.

I had arranged for my friend Di to pick me up at the train station at 11:30 this morning, since I was scheduled to return from Florida then. Di calls me at noon asking me if my plane is late because she's been waiting for HALF AN HOUR for me at the station. Dar! I'd forgotten to tell her the trip was cancelled! Luckily, she is a forgiving soul and let me make it up to her by taking her out to lunch. She is a very good and forgiving friend. Thanks, Di.

Sometimes I really do think I am losing my mind.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The Merry{ish} Maid has arrived

Today I got frustrated with the condition of my house. Normally I take a liaise-faire approach to housekeeping, but now with the dog inside all the time, the fur and the dust and the toys do seem to build up rather quickly. It actually began this morning when I dropped G off at school and glanced around at the interior of my car. It is thoroughly mommed. I decided today was the day to clean.

I am fairly proud of myself, I cleaned the car, the kitchen AND the basement...the latter wan't on my original chore list but because someone (the baby?) ripped a hole in a beanbag lap desk and got "snow" everywhere. "Ooo, mommy look at the snow! It sticks to my legs and goes everywhere with me!" she says tearing through the house, a cloud of white beads billowing behind her. Even the dog thought it was snow and was licking up the tiny white staticky Styrofoam bits, as if it were some sort of gourmet Scooby Snack. I also reorganized the shoe closet and thought about vaccuuming. That counts, right?

I also worked on more of Baby Ryan's photoshoot...I am in the home stretch now. The first one is one of my favorites, I've not seen one done like that before. The second one is a foot comparison between him and his older sister and the last one is an homage to his mom...her maternity shoot had a butterfly theme to it.



Monday, January 28, 2008

Vote!

Here are my submissions for the RPS spring show. I am guaranteed to get at least one accepted for hanging. Which do you think will hang?

#1 Salutation

#2 The Seer


#3 Mmmm...Tasty!

#4 Is Anybody Home?

#5 Shimmer

#6 Stairway on Harris

Not Funny.

I've always fancied myself as a wit. I'm not slapstick funny, but when I am in a jocular mood, I can consistently rouse a giggle or two from a one line zinger. Well, usually.

We had been playing outside this morning, well, the kids were playing anyway, I had taken DH's ancient laptop outside to entertain myself with the long extension cord that tethers it to life winding through the garage. Nonetheless, I felt very Star Trekkish and cool as I surfed the net under the shade of a pine tree with the birds tweeting all around and the children drawing happily on the driveway with chalk. DH called and we decided to meet for lunch at Moe's, a burrito chain around the corner. I called the children over and told them to start cleaning up, and then blew my nose on a tissue I had taken from the box which was sitting next to me. "Mom," she says "you might want to bring that box of tissues with you to Moe's in case you need it."

"Thanks for the tip, G, what a really really Hot Tip" I say, referencing her favorite movie du jour, The Safe Side, and poking her in the side. No response. "Get it? Hot Tip? Like the Safe Side Super Chick always says?"

"Yeah I get it."

"What, not even a smile. C'mon that was funny"

"It was funny, but it wasn't hilarious" she says, and leaves to finish putting the rest of the toys away.

Oh, no. I'm already the uncool mom!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Self-Taught.

I had always thought that boys learned their distinct boyishness by observing and mimicking other boys. Apparently I was wrong...it's intrinsic.



Thursday, January 24, 2008

Rx

Well, I have been fighting off a cold for a few weeks now and I just keep to be feeling worse and worse. Not so terrible that I am unable to function and need to just lay in bed all day drinking tea or anything, just a general feeling of puniness. So, in preparation for my trip down to Naples [Florida] to meet baby Kadyn (if she's born yet) and see my mom's new Yorkipoms (anyone need a puppy? she's got 6! didn't heed Bob Barker's advice), I made an appointment with my doctor's office.

On the way to the appointment I picked up G from preschool and made a pit stop at the Golden Arches to get the children some "chicken pieces" and apples. This, of course, started an ugly discussion about who was going to get more nuggets and who was going to get more apples...No, I want the apples, but you ate them all last time, kid, so T gets them all this time...Waaaa! Well, now you've just lost your nuggets, too... BooHoo! You'd better stop crying if you want to try and convince me to reinstate your nugget ration... Gulp. Silence. Ahhh.

And so we arrived at the parking garage to the Medical Multiplex...you never know which doctor you are going to see, but you can be sure you will leave with a prescription for something. Which I did, I am receiving treatment with an antibiotic for a possible bacterial respiratory infection. She wasn't sure, but what the hay can't hurt. Shocker. So, I will live and the children were rather well behaved during the visit, if you ignore the happy screeching and the persistent tapping on the fish tank. They do have a lovely fish tank, will all the characters from Finding Nemo in it. I'm sure they were all yelling "Hey, kid, leave the tank alone!" bubble bubble bubble.

{B} is for Bliss


Wednesday, January 23, 2008

{R} is for Rubbish

The Glad ForceFlex kitchen bags are really wonderful if you generate the amounts of garbage that we do. I try to recycle as much as possible, but I usually dispose of a bag a day. Yesterday, when I was taking the garbage out to the can, the bag was so heavy that it broke as I was tossing it in, causing refuse to be strewn across my driveway. As I cleaned up the mess, I noted that it was the diapers that were the very worst of it, which made me think about the men who collect garbage for a living...the garbage men. They must be some strong men, both in muscle and in stomach, to be able to to that job. I commend them. I am thankful that where I live I have the option of having my rubbish picked up for me and hauled away to be placed in a landfill somewhere, which I am sure will eventually be turned into a golf course.

The people of Naples (Italy), however, are not so fortunate. As I sit here in my clean(ish) house, in my fine little town, I feel awful for them right now. Waking each morning to a growing mountain of garbage outside their front door and in the middle of their roads...their children having trouble breathing because of the decay and rot that fills the air. Suddenly, my kid's stinky diapers don't seem that bad.

Read about it here

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Newborn Photos! Baby Ryan!





I am working on baby Ryan's photos tonight...his parents are two of the nicest people I have met since I started this photographic voyage. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work with you all.

Some random photos from the past month or two

I've been a bit overwhelmed lately and since things have eased off I have eased off of myself, also. So tonight I am going through the volumes of images I have taken in December and January in preparation for some newborn edits which I will be doing for the rest of the week...they are on their way, Carrie! Needed to finish up my neice's first :)

Anyhow, here's a picture of G that was taken at the Home Depot on Christmas Eve. Getting ready for big surprises!

Hello out there

I doubt if anyone will find this little blog very interesting, but I am going to branch out from my safety zone and give it a shot.

Today I discovered a man named Peter Mayer. He is a kindred spirit. His "The Introvert Song" is *cough* disconcertingly descriptive of me. I am learning to appreciate in my introvertedness, though, instead of fighting it. I just hope my kids are a little less affected by this condition when they grow up.