Wednesday

Well, another day here in the desert. My day started with BodyCombat. I can't tell you how much I have come to love that class. There is really something to be said for feeling like you are just beating the crap out of someone or something. It's liberating and freeing and you feel just 1000 times better when you walk out of there. Something I could never begin to describe...but I highly recommend! Kung Fu Sting was in the house (formerly known as Floats like a Butterly, Stings like a Bee...or Sting for short!). Someone forgot to tell my man Sting that there are other people in the room...and that every participant in the class is only allotted so much space in which to perform wondrous acts of kung fu martial arts miraculous and awesome moves. The man is simply dangerous to be around. I personally preferred to plant myself front and center in front of the stage today, rather than risk my life by attempting this class in his general vicinity. Now, reading this, you might think that i am overexaggerating or overstating the situation...but believe me....it is MOST CERTAINLY as I say! Kung Fu Sting, coupled with Granny Get Out of the Way and Miss Ribbons and No Bows all in same corner of the room was simply too much for me today. Ribbons and No Bows is an older lady with really short hair who insists upon parting her do and putting it into these really too tiny to mention low pigtails and tying black ribbons around them. Only there are no bows there...just loose hanging ribbons. Sometimes I want to tap her on the shouder and say "Excuse me Laura Ingalls...but your bows are untied." She's got to be 60 or so. Way too old for pigtails if you ask me. The pigtails in and of themselves are not problematic for me. But the ribbons. They annoy the crap out of me. Don't really know why. But I 'm always like...tie the damn things or just leave them at home. Needless to say...the far right corner of the room was definitely to be avoided today. The center was not too bad. I had Mama Flashdance busting a move right behind me. She's okay to exercise beside....except that she's a complete fashion disaster. Someone should report her to the "What Not to Wear to the Gym" show. I mean, throw some leg warmers on that one and it's like a PBS re-run from those early 70's exercise shows going on. She's distracting fashion wise...but stays in her space and follows the class well...so I'm good with that. We had substitute instructors today. I am generally change challenged...I simply don't like it as a rule. It's even more of a challenge when the substitute is one I cannot stand. Luckily there are only a couple of these at my gym. Head Banger is one who regularly creeps into my classes as a sub and I cannot tell you how disappointed I am to find her there on those days. But today, I have to say that the subs were just fantastic and I really enjoyed them. I thought their class was great and I dug deep and worked hard. It was a good morning.

After the gym, I had errands to run. Max needed to pick up his schedule at school for the upcoming school year. I had fees to pay and he had to have his picture made for his ID card again. I think that we now own 3 of these. That's a good thing for our Max as he tends to always be losing any and everything. Then we went to the library where we returned one book and checked out four. Clara is LOVING the American Girl book series. We started "Meet Felicity" today and she begs and begs for more when a chapter ends. After the errands, Max and Clara swam for a while while Ben was resting. Then they all came in and ate dinner. After dinner Ben got his first bath since Monday. He is supposed to soak in a lukewarm bath now twice a day for the next week or so. I think that went well and he smelled so good as I kissed him good night. Then they were all tucked in and that was the day kidwise!

And once they were all in bed, I had a NILMDTS session to start dealing with. I was at the hospital until after 10:00 last night. A family had a 37 week fetal demise....a precious little boy. It is very strange how my intuition kicks in with these sessions. I KNEW TMC was going to have one. I wasn't sure when...but I was positive it was TMC and that it would be very soon. I nearly took my big camera with me to Ben's surgery...just in case. But I didn't and there was no call. But then...the very next afternoon following Ben's surgery, I got the call. And it was TMC. And I wasn't one bit surprised. Honestly...I kind of freak myself out with those episodes. A while back, a one year old baby drowned in a bucket of mop water...and I dreamed about it before the call came in the next day. I even asked a couple of my friends....didn't you hear about that baby that drowned in the bucket...but noone had. And then I got the call. And the next day after I got the call it was in the newspaper. It's an odd thing that I have noticed here in the past year. I just seem to get a sense that there will be a call and can even narrow it down to the hospital. And then usually within 24 hours of that sense, the call comes. I am not so much sure that it is any intuition...but rather the fact that these NILMDTS calls seem to come in waves. Everything will be so quiet for a time and then all of a sudden you know that things are going to pick up and that there will be many calls. And there are. And then after a bit it is blissfully quiet again. Anyway....my baby from last night was beautiful. He must have been a cord accident because he just looked so perfect and beautiful. He only has the slightest bruising across his face and other than that he is just lovely. And so tonight I began the process of reviewing his images. And taking away the bruising. And just trying to restore him to the beautiful baby boy that his parents would have laid eyes on had this little one not been gathered into heaven so soon.

It is getting late now and it has all caught up to me today. Tomorrow promises to be busy as well. Until then!

You Find the WEIRDEST Things in the News

I am home today since Ben just had his surgery yesterday. I am enjoying not going anywhere (at least for now),lounging around with my second cup of coffee in my p.j.s and reading the news stories. As I was flipping through some stories here on my computer I came across this story about fish pedicures. And I'm like "WHAT?" And there is this picture of women sitting with their feet in fish tanks and the fish are eating their toes. I couldn't make this up if I tried. Apparently it's all the rage in Virginia, booking these fish pedicures. As I sit here this morning, I have to say that I have a hard time wrapping my brain around that one. I mean...I remember going to the bay side of the beach and in the quieter waters the fish would come up and nibble on you and it would just FREAK ME OUT! And now women are casting their feet, intentionally down into these fish tanks, as intentional snacking smorgasboards for these fish. That is MESSED UP! And how reliable can it possibly be? I mean...it's all fine and good if you are the first pedicure of the morning...especially if the place was closed on the day before. But what if you're like the 8th pedicure of the day for this particular fish tank? What if they are just FULL? I mean...they've been eating other women's feet all danged day long by that point. What if those fish are just saying to themselves that "If I see one more toe in front of me, I might just explode?" So you might end up leaving feeling less than adequately nibbled. And then think of the other scenarios too...I mean...fish poop. And there are a lot of them in these tanks. And so then you are thrusting your feet into tanks of pooping fish (and with all that toe jam they are consuming, I'm sure they have plenty of ammunition!) and who knows what else all those fish are up to there in that water. I'm sorry, but I prefer my pedicures the old fashion way. With a nice long soak in a hot, bubbly, "calgon, take me away" kind of foot spa. I want my foot sloughing done by hand...and not by mouth. I will be the first to tell you that I am resistant to change. I VERY much like the balance of my life to be...well VERY balanced and routine. And this is one fad, or new emerging rage...whatever you see it as, that I just cannot see myself embracing! The whole thing is just...well...FISHY! (ha ha! had to throw that one in there!)

I am just hoping that these feet belong to a man...because these are seriously some of the hairiest feet I have ever seen in my life! I mean...You can comb that stuff! YIKES!


The only word that comes to mind for me right now is just EEEWWWWWWW! I think I am now done with my coffee. Hard to stomach with toe eating fish images swimming through my mind!

Home Sweet Home!

Well, It is now 1:18 p.m. on Monday afternoon and we are back at home safe and sound after a very uneventful day of surgery for Ben. We actually got to leave the hospital 2 hours and 25 minutes from the time they wheeled Ben off to the O.R. He came out of the anesthesia beautifully and even ate part of a Quizno's sandwich on the way home. Now he is sitting here in front of the t.v. playing Guitar Hero and just having a nice afternoon. He refuses to lay down and be just down though. This might be trouble! I just gave him one of the Lortab pills they sent us home with and I am thinking that might take him down here in a bit! We shall see! He also is not seeing the wisdom of keeping that ice pack on his parts! I keep telling him he's really going to be hating life here shortly if he does not keep the ice going...but I keep finding his ice pack other places than on his body! This could be a challenging recovery for sure!

This is Ben when we first arrived at the hospital...getting ready to take his ride down to the pre-op staging area.

The nurse brought Ben this cute little turtle...TMC Tomas...to ride along with him. Isn't it cute?! The nurses were all so great to us there. We could not have asked for a better experience.

This is Ben in the pre-op staging area. How about that hat?! It was like having a big jiffy pop on his head!

Minutes after arriving back in the 600 unit recovery room Ben is cleared for takeoff and we were out of there! Ben got the royal treatment with a ride to the car!

And here is Ben, back at home, jamming on the Guitar Hero game and just chilling the afternoon away!

And THIS is the evidence of the day! My brother-in-law says that chicks dig scars...so this one should set Ben up nicely for some girl attention one day! And just so you know...in real life, his incision is much larger than it appears in this picture. Several inches long! Much longer than I was expecting to see!

Surgery Update #2

Ben is out of surgery and is doing well the doctor tells us. They found both the hydrocele and the communication and got everything all fixed up. He will be in the surgical recovery for another half an hour or so before he is moved to the 600 unit where Chris and I will be able to see him. Then he is there in that unit for at least an hour before they will release us to head home! So we might be on the road home a little after noon today! Hooray! Thank goodness this part is over!

Surgery Update

Well, I am blogging this from the surgical lobby waiting area at TMC. They took Ben into surgery an hour and 15 minutes ago. He handled all of the initial processing SO well! He seemed at ease and not too uptight about it all. I was plenty uptight and nervous for the both of us! They started his I.V. which was the worst part of the morning...but even that was only a quick stick of numbing medication and he felt nothing else. They gave him something in his I.V. right before they wheeled him away and he was quite loopy and relaxed as they headed off to the O.R. At the Urologist office when we had our appointment they told me it was a quick and simple 30 minute procedure. Then in the surgical pre-op this morning they told us it was about an hour procedure. Then we checked in at the surgical lobby desk they told us it was about a 2 hour procedure. So we have no idea how long our little buddy is actually to be in there for. But at the one hour and 20 minute mark we have heard nothing!

Last Getaway of Summer

Our family just got back from our last vacation of the summer! We soaked up the sun and splashed in the waves at San Diego for nearly a week! It was FANTASTIC! Not one of us was ready to come home and it was with great sadness that we packed up our things and began the journey back home. It was a magical week and we all had such a wonderful time! These are from a mommy and Clara morning out on the beach, early, before everyone else was up!




The kids had such a great time playing on the beach, building sand castles and playing in the waves...which were HUGE!

Clara loved jumping the waves as they rolled in!



This trip, we also added Boogie Boarding to our skill list...or "Booger Boarding" as Clara kept calling it. The kids had such a fantastic time trying to catch a wave and ride it in. It took some figuring out, but all three kids...and Chris were great at it by the time we headed home. It was so much fun to see their faces as they hurdled toward shore on those waves! Mom did NOT add this skill to her nearly endless list of lifetime skills...the water was VERY cold...even in July! Water temperature registered at just 70 degrees! BRRRRRRR! But the kids were oblivious and had the time of their lives!

Chris catches a big wave and rides it in at top speed!

Clara LOVED her board and trying to hang on for the wild ride!

Ben was the best of all of our crew riding the waves in! He caught more than anyone!

Max shows us some real skill! Look Ma! No hands!

While we were in the land of big water, Chris decided to charter a boat and take us all out on a fishing expedition. This was great fun...for all of them! I tend to get VERY seasick, but decided to brave this adventure just the same. After all...if I didn't go, WHO was going to take the pictures?! Well, I can assure you that these will be pretty much the last pictures of my children on a boat taken by ME! This trip almost killed me. I lasted for nearly 5 1/2 hours and then at that point I informed both Chris and the boat captain that the trip was OVER and we had to head for shore NOW! At this point I was more than a little green and had moved to the railing and I just KNEW I was going to be VERY very sick. Luckily, the green tint of my skin and my emphatic, if not totally desperate tone of voice seemed to convince them to drop everything and throw that boat into gear RIGHT THEN. We headed for shore and with the wind in my face, I managed to regain control. I think that this was a great disappointment to my children. By that time, Max was perched up in the front of the boat near me giving a blow by blow commentary on my sea sickness saga. His dialogue went something like "Oh...it looks like she's gonna blow! She's moved to the rail! Oh yeah...she's gonna lose it!" It was so charming. Had I not needed such a death grip on the railing to keep my footing I think I might have reached out and thrown the kid overboard! Anyway...I survived the trip, without any great show of a return of my breakfast! A little fishing goes a long, LONG way for me! But at least Chris and the kids had a blast!

Our crew is READY to sail!

Chris got to drive the boat! This is his happy place!

Check out the concentration on Max while trying to reel in "the BIG ONE"!

Clara with her Baracuda catch! She kept calling at a "Bare-tuna"

Chris and a very green, seasick Me! You got to love those deep sea adventures! NOT!

My Best Compliment to Date

Yesterday I had the great privilege to take some pictures of my friend Mandy and her little Ramey. It's always a privilege, but yesterday was even much more so. Those two have been down one heck of a rough road since Ramey's delivery a few weeks ago. At one point it looked as though we could lose them both. I even headed to the hospital with my NOw I Lay Me Down to Sleep badge at one point. That was the first night that I met Ramey. One teeny, tiny little girl amongst more equipment and tubes and doctors than I had ever seen. Fighting desperately to breathe. That was a rough day. The first time I saw Mandy after she got home from a VERY long hospital stay I was shocked by how hollow and gray and frail she looked. It really brought home to me just how much they had been through. A couple of weeks later, little Ramey finally joined them at home. And yesterday, I got to see them both here in my little studio. And I have to say that they were just BEAUTIFUL! It was the first time I had seen Ramey without tubes and IV's and all sorts of medical paraphrenalia! She was so gorgeous and healthy and strong looking. And Mandy was positively glowing. She looked so amazing. And as I took their pictures my mind was spinning back through their journey and remembering how precarious both of their situations were and I was just so thankful to be sitting there with them and capturing THOSE images. Happy, beautiful images of a mother and her sweet baby. It was precious to see her all nestled up in Mandy's arms.

Now, I should tell you that I was practicing some new stuff on them. Mandy has been my number one guinea pig since before I actually started my business. She was the first to come and sit under some ridiculously hot stupid lights. Then when I got the new lights...the first to come. Then...I went to a conference that specialized in newborn and maternity photography and that brought on yet another set of lights and a COMPLETELY different set up so different than anything I have ever used before. And so Mandy came and once again helped me run my first test. The images were great lighting wise...though there is still much work for me to do on that front. Later, after she had looked over her gallery, she called and said she liked the pictures. Whew! That was good because Ramey had gotten a little fussy on us and those last 4 out of 5 poses just didn't come along like I had hoped that they would. But then she said the nicest thing ever...my best compliment to date. She said that in 75% of the pictures she actually liked the way SHE looked. Liked it enough that she wanted to come back with her hubby and do another set with the three of them! WOW!!! I happen to know that Mandy doesn't often like pictures of herself. So that was huge. But that she would like so many and want to do them again...well that was the ultimate compliment. Now watch the next set just turn out awful!! Just kidding!

Anyway. That was the highlight of my day yesterday! Seeing those two so happy and healthy there in front of the camera and knowing in the end that they felt beautiful when they looked at them! On a side note I will mention that Mandy IS stunningly beautiful and is one of my VERY favorite new moms to photograph because she glows so fantastically when she looks at her little ones. My dad always said "The camera can only take what it sees!" And yesterday it saw beauty defined on many fronts!

A Big Day For Clara

Yesterday was a big day for Clarabelle. First, she had the last day of her cheer camp. She had SUCH a good time and has found a new passion in her life! She jumped and shouted and tumbled all week long and on the last day that got to give the parents a quick little show of some of their new stuff. So here she is in action!
Our little cheerleader girl!

Strutting her stuff!

Great feats and tricks!

After Cheerleading, we came home, had lunch, and then Clara's little friend Sophia came over to play for a bit. Then we took her home and headed off to see Dr. Vincent and REMOVE the cast! Hooray! After much waiting it was FINALLY Clara's turn and it was so much fun to watch her expressions and see the cast fall away from her pretty little arm. Here's the story in pictures!

Ummmm...not too sure about this saw thing!

Hey! That's not so bad! Weird...but not bad!

Popping it open!

Cutting through the final layer!

Free at last!

It's nice to have her little wrist free and clear again. It's fairly stiff and sore. And her skin was pretty irritated in there around her wrist bones. But we got her all cleaned up and lotioned up last night and she feels much better this morning! And now she is all ready to play on the beach and we don't have to worry about filling up that cast with sand!

One More Wednesday Note

I almost forgot! And this was too funny. Yesterday I was looking at the Reader Submitted Photo section in the newspaper and I went to the computer and pulled up more galleries. I decided that a lot of my pictures were as good or better than a lot that are there. And so I uploaded several of them. There were pretty flowers and scenic mountains and gorgeous canyons. And then just for a laugh I posted one in my gallery of Oscar when he was pulling on Casey's tail when he was a puppy. It is actually here on the blog if you go back to June or July of last year...maybe August? Anyway. I threw that one in for fun. Then this morning, I am sitting at the table eating breakfast and drinking my coffee when I glance at the Reader's Submitted Photo section and see this cute little dog pulling another dog's tail. "Awww, that's so cute!" I think to myself and was turning the page before it hit me that that was MY cute little picture I was seeing there in the newspaper! So I have officially been printed! Hooray! It was so NOT the way I would have imagined making the newspaper! However, fame presents itself in many, many ways! And that's how mine came in...in the manner of dog butts and tiny teeth! Don't ya just love the way life happens sometimes?!

Wednesday

Today was just another day as far as days go I suppose. I dropped Clara off at cheer camp, came home and started some laundry, then headed back out the door to Body Combat. This class, has incidentally become one of my favorites. It's a lot of fun and goes by very quickly! Always a plus for me! Mr. "Floats Like a Butterfly, Stings Like a Bee" was in the house of combat this morning. He was a sight I tell ya! He had arms and legs just a punching and flailing as hard as they could go. I should have noticed the second that I walked in that this guy had a good 1/4 of the entire workout floor clear around him. Hmmmm. That really SHOULD start some bells to ringing. The rest of us are certainly cozy enough in there spacewise...and then there's this guy. Lot's of open space around one and only one person on the workout floor can usually only mean a couple of things. Either said person has a pretty major body odor even before class starts, or surrounding class finds person to be obnoxious in his or her usage of allotted space. The latter was the case for Floats Like a Butterfly, Stings Like a Bee (from here on out just known as Sting). He was ALL OVER the place. He was punching the air so hard I thought he'd just throw himself on down there on the floor...a self knockout! Oh yes. Sting was really something to take in this morning! My pal Jenny was just mad. I looked over and for a moment there I had NO DOUBT that she could literally beat the crap out of someone right then and there. She was IN to the grab em by the hair and punch their lights out move! This class is great if you have some sort of frustration or aggravation you want to work through. There's so much punching and kicking and yelling and the whole "Hi-YAH!" thing is happening. It's a good morning at the gym on Combat Days. Sometimes I leave there half convinced that I could rip somebody up. I mean I feel TOUGH. I get my whole martial arts thing on (and if you are laughing trying to picture that then you better watch out! I might just lay a move on you one of these days!) Plus...there's always somebody like Sting in there just making me feel a little bit better about my own sorry state of coordination and lack of skill in this foreign area!

After the gym I grabbed a quick shower and then it was RIGHT back out the door to get the girl! I picked her up and she was one tired chicky today! She laid down and took a two hour nap! After that she got an invite to go to her friend Sophia's house to watch a movie and she was OFF like a flash! The boys have had friends over all afternoon and it I suppose it is getting about time to return them to their point of origin and collect Miss Clara back to hers!

Lots of positive comments on the new website design. It still not up yet and I want to hold it just one more day...just in case I want to add a couple of things to it! But for the most part it is getting great reviews. I guess that is about all for now! More later!

SUCCESS!!! At LONG Last!

We FINALLY have a surgery date for Ben on the calendar. July 28 will be his big day. I think all of us will be glad to have this put behind us! Apparently there is still some confusion as to whether or not he has to go in for some pre-operative testing beforehand or not. The hospital says yes, he is on the list. The Dr.'s office says no, no orders were written for it. So we just don't know what any of that looks like yet. Talk about really screwing with your vacation plans!!! YIKES! But anyway. Hopefully it will all sort out tomorrow and we will have the all clear to move ahead on the 28th. That SHOULD allow Ben enough time to get back on his feet as least somewhat by the time school starts. He might be moving a bit slower than the average bear, but he hopefully will be feeling well enough to tackle the sitting at his desk with the rest of his classmates. THAT day is coming up SO quickly! Well, that's our progress report for now. Got to entertain the little blonde one in our house. She is SO BORED! And she is wailing at me and telling me that there is NOTHING to do. Poor baby! I think I might teach her how to mop. I wonder how quickly she might think of something fun to do once I drag that little lesson out for her! We shall see!

Movie Recommendation

Tonight Chris and I watched "The Bucket LIst" If you have not seen this movie then I give it my highest recommendation. It IS a chick flick...be warned. But that said, even Chris said he really liked it. For one, it was really pretty funny. All the way through it was humorous. Like laugh out loud funny. But it was also very thought provoking. And very deep. I found myself pondering the comment that Morgan Freeman's character made....that somewhere along the way once their kids were grown he couldn't remember what it was like to walk down the sidewalk and hold his wife's hand. Basically he couldn't remember why he ever fell in love with his wife. This was a thought issue for me. Then, there was a lot of focus on accomplishing some things in life and really enjoying some things in your life and really discovering what those things are. In the end, hearing what one friend said at the funeral of the other....it was so amazing. I laughed tonight. I sobbed tonight. I will go to bed thinking a lot tonight and I hope and pray that I can find the time to watch it one more time tomorrow because I thought the message was so sweet and so strong. So...if you are sitting around with nothing to do...rent this movie. Heck...BUY this movie because it is rich in life lessons. The Bucket List. I am glad I saw it. I will see my life a little differently tomorrow because I did! Go and rent it!

Why Do I Conduct a Model Search?!

So recently, I went to a conference in Phoenix on maternity and newborn photography. I gathered a plethera of information and came home itching to try out some new posing and lighting effects. But before that could happen I first had to make yet ANOTHER investment into lighting. Granted...I feel it's totally worth it and this is a market that I really am passionate about. The bringing about of another life is such a miracle. I think that photographing the pregnant mother is SUCH an amazing thing. Few times in a woman's life will they accomplish anything so amazing and nurturing as bringing another tiny and delicate life into this world. The body's capacity to accomplish this awesome task is simply amazing. And once that tiny, new being is here. it is fascinating to me how tiny and intricate and delicate and totally perfect they are. These tiny, tiny, yet oh so perfect little combinations of two people. It's really an amazing thing to witness and to have the honor of capturing, because it is SO brief a time that these tiny beings will present in such a tiny, delicate and beautiful package. That said, I should tell you that the final piece of my new lighting set up was delivered today. And so, of course I am anxious to test it. My sweet neighbor has so generously agreed to submit her own sweet little one for my first official session so I can test out all my new poses. But, being the professional type that I am, I try to have as many bugs worked out of the system as I can before their arrival in hopes that their session just flows rather smoothly. That would be the idea anyway. However. Recruiting volunteers in this household has long since become a bit of a challenge. If I ask any of my own (hubby included) to appear in my little studio for as much as five minutes all sorts of complaints and attitudes and excuses begin to fly. Tonight was no exception. Maxwell happened to be the family sacrifice to mom's photographic experimenting efforts. While I do NOT find his shenanigans the least bit amusing, I do think the new lighting set up will work nicely for what I am trying to do! And so...THIS is why I run a model search. Why I am desperate for newborns up to six weeks of age. Why I have to solicit outside help whenever I wish to try something new. What's a poor mom to do?! I mean....REALLY!!!!!! And, as a side note...I have this doll that my mom sent Clara that stays in my antique cradle. It NEVER fails to totally freak out people as being real. I have NEVER had anyone here in my home see it and not do a TOTAL double take on it. Do you SEE Max holding this doll? NOT A CHANCE! I'm just thankful there is a warm body in the lens area to even try to focus on! Granted...its his own assorted collection of completely NON-NEWBORN poses...but hey...I am thankful just that there IS a live body in front of the camera today. Mandy...I am ready for you! No promises! But I am READY to try to create something beautiful for your newest princess!

Surgery Schedule Attempt- Day 6

So, it's nearly 4:30 and I just spoke to the Urology people...AGAIN. Take a wild guess at whether or not we've made ANY progress whatsoever. That's right. NOPE! Nothing. Still waiting on the doctor's orders. GRRRRRR! It would SEEM to me that if a doctor paints all sorts of grim scenarios about your child's bowels falling out through an open hernia and all various and assorted other complications...well. It would SEEM, at least to me, that when surgery is recommended that it ought to be....you know... SCHEDULED!!!!! For six days straight now, at least once, but mostly twice a day I have been calling that office and trying to get this procedure scheduled. Can't for the life of me figure out what the heck the problem is. Ahhh, the patience I am calling upon these days! If I HAD another pediatric urologist option I would SOOOO be seeking it out right about now! Oh well! Tomorrow is a new day!

Surgery Scheduling Attempt # ?

So I finally talked to someone at the Southwest Urological place today. FINALLY! Only took 4 phone calls to get a live body! When they told me the scheduler was on another line I insisted that I would hold! And hold I did. For over 10 minutes. And when I finally spoke directly to her, WHAT did she have for me? NADA! NOTHING! ZERO! BUPKISS! ZIP! Apparently the doc is STILL pondering Ben's chart and deciding what to do. Hmmm. I THOUGHT he seemed pretty clear about what we needed to do LAST WEEK. Even if he was a little unclear he has now had a FULL WEEK to review the chart and get clear...know what I mean? And so...Day One of WEEK TWO brings me NO closer to having a surgery date on the calendar. GRRRRRRRR.

On to other frustrating news in my life. The website is still not up. It's close. It's actually all built and can even be tentatively viewed by going to http://tonyarobertsphotography.com/test. I've run into a couple of small snags. For one, the really pretty font that looks OH so pretty on my Mac just DOESN'T look pretty on the PC when I pull it up. The pages seem a bit long vertically for some reason. And I really REALLY hate the way you have to wait for the banana thing in order to view the galleries. But the trade off is that the pictures are so much bigger and nicer and so easy to scroll through. It's a trade I suppose. There are still bugs to work out for sure. Having to share Chris, my tech man, with Roche is NOT helping the progression of this website either! I think that everything that can possibly go wrong up on the hill there where he works pretty much IS! I know that he is VERY much looking forward to our upcoming vacation!

On other fronts...Clara is off to cheerleading camp tomorrow. Should be a good channel for her VERY loud voice. Seems the child can't talk to us here lately without screaming! The boys are REALLY looking forward to having her gone for half a day! Max got his new electric guitar for his birthday today (YES! You CAN pray for the poor mommy who has to listen to him practice!), but like all things that come in big boxes, the guitar got quickly laid aside for the big empty boxes it arrived in! Go figure! I am feeling like I am coming out from under my "sleeping sickness" that I suffered from for a few days. At one point I was even worried I might be pregnant I was so tired (HOLY CRAP! Can you imagine?!). But it seems to have just been some sort of little viral thing. Chris actually had it too and somehow I am quite sure being pregnant ever crossed his mind!

Oh! I tried out a couple of little marketing things that I picked up at my recent conference in Phoenix, just to kind of see what they would do and YIKES! They REALLY really worked very well. Like...I'm going to have to be OH so careful how I throw those things out there! The fall schedule is already booking up for me. I am booked solidly into August with several family portraits and even a couple of BIG things. Like high school football teams big! The PTA has asked me about doing a Family Portrait NIght fundraiser and I am having lots of inquiries already about Christmas portraits. So it looks as though it is bound to be a busy season for sure! My model search is going well. I have had lots of people asking how long I will be looking for the New to 6 week age group. So that's cool! All in all, I have no complaints! Well...there IS that website issue and the urologist from hell. But other than that...no complaints!

One last thing. I started a new bible study that I am finding to be just really great. It's called No Other Gods...Confronting Our Modern Day Idols.
It is written by Kelly Minter and it just really good. The days are quite short if you find yourself without a lot of time to sit and look up a million verses. However. The subject matter is such that you find yourself revisiting the text and thinking on it throughout the day. The verses SCREAM memorize me! And I am having absolutely NO problem identifying with this study 100%. One really cool thing about it is that there are recipes all the way through it. Tonight I made the Black Beans and Rice that was at the end of the first chapter and it was a real winner! Delightfully yummy! Simple enough even for me! And one that Chris said that I can cook ANYtime. So there you have it! The ultimate seal of approval. Clara liked it too. The boys...well. Three out of five ain't so bad! Upcoming recipes include a pasta dish, chicken scallopini, beef pot roast and PUMPKIN MUFFINS! YUMMY! Sicilian Pizza, Mac and Cheese from scratch! Chicken Cutlets with secret sauce and a top secret chili recipe. I can't wait!

And so...I have to say goodnight now! Until later!

VENTING!

Can I just say that I am SO frustrated with Southwest Urology?! I have been trying to get Ben's surgery scheduled for over a week now. And that office is just INFURIATING! I called FOUR days last week. And every single day they took down my information, and told me someone would call me back to get me scheduled. NO CALL! Day after day. And I called again this morning, bright and early, 10 minutes past 8 a.m. so we can go ahead and get a jump on the process of this...week 2 of the scheduling saga. Guess what? Their office does not open until 9 a.m. And I am like you are *@#%* me!!! Office opens at 9 a.m. They take lunch from 11:30 until 1 p.m. And they are GONE for the day before 4:30 p.m. GRRRRRRRR. I hate urologists. They have NO bedside manner, NO personality whatsoever (yes, I have now surveyed three different ones). Their waiting rooms are slammed full of 80 year old men...who incidentally do a DREADFUL job of hitting that toilet when they have to give a sample. I don't know when I have been in a nastier bathroom than that one that was there at their office. And I find their set ups to be TERRIBLY inefficient, And so. THAT is my Monday morning rant. Going to Body Step now so I can work out my frustration!

Walking Down Memory Lane

Today, being Max's birthday, has had me walking down Memory Lane a bit! Within moments of his not so little feet hitting the floor this morning I was thinking that he was MUCH sweeter when he was a little thing! Instead of embracing a happy, smiley, even drooly little boy in a joyous "Happy Birthday to You!" manner, I was sitting across from a grumpy, mussed haired, sullen...even cranky young man. Ahhh...it used to be so easy! They were such delightful young children. Sweet, cuddly, loved their mommy SO much, give them a Transformer Robot and they were happy for a MONTH! Now...they look at what you've so lovingly picked out for them and they say "And?" Anyway. Enough on my sullen preteen and his "day of joy and celebration". I have decided not to dwell so much on this day and it's grumpies, but reflect on the yesterdays with this sweet baby boy of mine. I suspect he would not appreciate this walk down memory lane, or anyone's invitation into it in the least. But then...it's my blog. My walk! My invitation to give! And more importantly...MY PICTURES! And so...here's my baby boy. The way he ONCE was. The way I still like to see him. Even if he is all big and grumpy and hormonal these days. My Max...

Max at 9 months

Max at 6 months

Max's 1st Birthday

Max Turns 6 one month before Clara arrives! Transformer Bliss!

Max right around his first birthday!

Such a sweet little gentleman at two!

Max...our passionate little eater!

He's THINKING about taking that mower for a spin!

Our baby turned TWO!
Aaahhh yes! These were the days! Regardless of how old or how ornery he gets, I will always see this sweet little blonde haired, beautiful eyed little boy and know that somewhere in all that grown up grumpiness and "coolness" is my sweet, sweet little Max!