Life at the Looney Bin!

{Extreme} Public Apology

2010-09-09T14:42:00.007-05:00

I ran my mouth last night. I know that’s not surprising to anyone because that’s one of the things that I do all too well. However rather than just feeling like an idiot for talking too much I feel really badly for dogging my husband to the bystanders.

Did I really want to punch him in the face? Absolutely. Did I need to share that with our mutual friends in his absence? Absolutely not.

To those of you who witnessed my outburst and were looking for the number of a priest who could perform an exorcism, I’m happy to announce that I had my quarterly break down last night and all is well. My general routine is to let things build and build and build until I just break down and have a good ole cry and usually take it all out on Jay.

I’m probably the most stressed out that I can ever recall being. I’m not a get-stressed-out kind of gal. I go with the flow and do quite well (if I must say myself) with juggling everything. Well…business is booming. Which is FABULOUS-don’t get me wrong. From July 1-September 18th (vacation time!) I will have had 18 different photo sessions. 7 of which were weddings. On average I take 800-1000 images at a wedding so that’s at least 6000 photos to edit not even counting the other 11 sessions. It’s just a bit overwhelming--especially with the regular 40 hours, 3 & 4 year old, house to attempt to keep clean, laundry for 4 people and a Sunday school class to teach. I think I'm going to hyperventilate just thinking about it.

Now…add to that unexpected house guests in this case the in-laws-who I adore but are surrounded by non-stop drama-and it’s just made my cup overflow (and not in the good Hope Floats kind of way folks). So when Jay had a lazy day on Tuesday that was it. All I could take. When I got home last night I told him I was mad at him and he was clueless. I had to spell it out for him and he laughed!

Jay: “I’m sorry… I didn’t even know you were mad. You know if you ever want me to do something all you have to do is ask.”
Me: “I shouldn’t have to ask.” (Come on, I know some of you ladies have used that line)
Jay: “Well, I’m really sorry. Sometimes it’s just nice to be lazy for a change.”
Me—in between sobs: “I wouldn’t know!”

Its okay you can laugh too. I was completely feeling sorry for myself. He really is wonderful and of course he deserves a day to be lazy. He works two jobs just like I do. He works really hard to provide for our family and make sure we’re all happy and taken care of.

So I would like to apologize not only for airing my dirty laundry but also for complaining. I’ve never thought of myself as a complainer but as of late I find myself complaining all the time. I LOVE taking pictures and am so extremely thankful to not only be doing what I love but to have been blessed with a thriving business in these economic times. I thank God every day for my life and I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet. I just need a pause button and a few little elves to boss around and life would be perfect.

*************************************************************************************

I just got back from lunch with Jay. He gave me a gift certificate to the spa and a doozie from Great American Cookie Company. I love that boy. I just may keep him after all.

Oh…and by the way…he doesn’t exactly know about my outburst last night so let’s just keep that between us okay internet friends? I’ll tell him eventually. I just need to cash in on my massage first;)

I also apologize for these ancient photos. Sadly, they're all that I have on this computer.

Red Cups + Rain Boots = Teamwork

2010-07-14T12:59:00.002-05:00

It never fails. When Jay goes out of town something will go wrong. I think my very first blog entry ever was when Jay was in Kentucky and everything was going wrong. This time it’s not quite so dramatic. Not even a big deal really but it was a pretty funny scene.

Before I type this I’m going to ask for no judgmental comments. I quite likely could get in trouble with child-welfare services for confessing this.

With that said, while it’s not an ideal practice and I really try not to do it any more than I have to…I still occasionally have to throw Bryson in the shower with me. Yes…I know that he’s four now & I’m most likely scarring him for LIFE!! Most of you are probably thinking “Hasn’t been a couple of years since she told us that adorable story about him asking if it was dangerous to touch girls there?” Well, yeah, it has and I really try not to practice mixed showering with him but here’s the skinny though. Jay tore our front bathroom apart in FEBRUARY. (you read that right, as in the second month in the year). He assured me it would be completed in a couple of weekends. Well, I know my husband so I took that to mean a month or so. Yeah, 5 months later and I still can’t give the kids a bath. Our back bathroom only has a shower and while they’re pretty mature kids for their age I can’t exactly tell them to go take a shower by themselves can I? Nope. So if Jay’s not here then that leaves me. Okay, I just wanted to get my defense out of the way before I begin our story today.

So, it was community shower time at the Looney house Sunday night. While it didn’t take long to realize that the water wasn’t draining very well, it did take just long enough that I had the kids all lathered up and was half way into the process. So as we notice water pooling around our ankles I try to rush up the shower and this just got the kids riled up so they decided to play chase around my legs while I was trying to speed this up. (All of this is in like a tiny stand up shower mind you). So I finally wrangle everyone to get them clean just before the water reaches the spill-over point. I get out and throw a robe, instructing the kids to stand really still. Well, of course to a 4 year old little boy with a huge puddle of water that can only be interpreted to splash in the water, right? So I fuss and dry up the water in the floor and get the kids dried off and attempt to use the plunger on the drain. Not helping at all. I also had to let Bryson try to plunge it because well, he’s a guy and apparently that attitude of “It’s not working just because a girl is trying to do it” starts early. In his defense, Jay did instruct him to be the man of the house while he was away and to take care of us so I couldn’t let him disappoint his Daddy by not even giving it a go. I know this is shocking but the plunger didn’t work for him either.

Naturally I didn’t have any draino on hand but don’t count me out yet because I’m a quick albeit non-traditional thinker folks. I told the kids to get their rain boots and two red plastic cups. We made an assembly line and my children, in p.j.’s and rain boots, scooped up cupfuls of water from the bottom of the shower and passed them down to me to pour in the sink. They thought this was a grand adventure and problem solved! I put some draino in it the next day and it was good to go.

So while the event started out with me thinking “Classic. Jay’s gone for 5 hours and everything goes to pot.” (Side note: what does that mean anyway…goes to pot?) it ended up being a pretty fun adventure that I’ll remember and laugh about picturing my kids in their rainboots singing about teamwork and thinking their momma is pretty fabulous.

My Number One Fan

2010-07-14T12:57:00.001-05:00

I just managed to do a complete post from the my entry to this one. I wonder if there’s a class on condensing your thoughts…?

Anyway, I’m writing today simply because it was requested that I do so. Yep! Little ole me has a blog fan who has asked me repeatedly to hurry up and write something new. (I think my head is swelling just a little) Who is this moron you may be wondering? That would be Mr. Justin Miller himself. Deep down I really think he just enjoyed by post in which I gushed about how wonderful he is and really wants me to write something else about him. If I wasn’t sure, then after he surprised me by bringing me lunch at work complete with a turtle cheesecake dessert then that made it pretty clear. So here it is Justin, just for you!

You really are an awesome person and I’m so glad to call you a friend. You’re one of those people who I may not see for a while but still feel 100% comfortable around and can pick up right where we left off. I know that if I ever needed you for anything I could call you at any hour of the day or night and you would be there.

That got me to thinking about how incredibly lucky I am to have so many amazing people in my life. So I’m going to give a tribute of some people that I wouldn’t be here without and can count on for anything. I was going to put it all into one but I think that wouldn’t quite do these folks justice. So I’ll just spread them out a little. Maybe, just maybe (which most likely means maybe not) I’ll also include a photo too! Yeah, don’t get your hopes up but that would make it a little better if I could swing it.

Since you’re the inspiration for this post I’ll start with you Justin. Since I did dedicate an entire blog to you once already, I’ll keep it short. Plus, you’re going start getting on up there with my blog-bragging on Jay if I give you too much blog time (but if you’d like to bring by some more turtle cheesecake then I’ll see what I can do)

I feel like we know each other as well as if we were siblings. We both have a strange sense of humor and banter quite well off one another. I’ve given you love advice while we sat atop of 5 gallon paint buckets and you’ve helped me bandage myself when my gracefulness sliced open my flesh yet –again with the box cutter. (Why didn’t Charles take that thing away from me?) I’m sure we couldn’t count the hours we’ve laughed together or the number of games of rummy we’ve played or the mellow yellows we drank back in the day. I love you & I’m so glad that you’ve found Micah to put up with you. She’s precious and you seem as blissfully in love as I’ve always hoped you’d be someday.

I know this isn’t the blog post you were exactly looking for. You wanted another bizarre story that could only happen to me. Well, you’re in luck because I just happen to have one that I’ll try to post next.

Jamakeover...Derailed

2010-07-14T12:56:00.000-05:00

Okay, so the Jamakeover got a bit derailed. Oh, all right, SERIOUSLY derailed. It started off really well…

… My first week weigh-in I checked in at 129.2—Woohoo!! Just sliding in under that frightening 130…week two happened to be the week of my work conference and dun dun dun...death sentence for Jamakeover (Take One I’m now fondly referring to it as). You see, these work trips are fashioned much like a feed lot. You eat an enormously huge and delicious breakfast followed by sitting in a cold boring meeting for a couple of hours. Then you get a break where gigantic cookies are served followed by a couple more hours of meeting then lunch and you guessed it meetings then afternoon snack of popcorn & fudge, candy, etc. followed by a huge dinner. Rinse and repeat for 3 days and all of us ladies are sitting quite plump and feeling ready for the slaughter-hence the feed lot analogy.

So honestly, I haven’t weighed in since that fateful trip because I’ve just been too scared and now a month has passed. Every weekend I find myself saying “Tomorrow I’m starting over” yet that hasn’t exactly happened yet. So it’s another week & I guess I’ll go ahead and give it another go.

But I really wasn’t writing this blog entry to talk about my jamakeover failure I just thought I’d get that out of the way since I left off claiming to have had some life-changing revelation about changing things. Which, in my defense, I really did feel that way at the time…it just got a bit lost somehow.

I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to every single one of you who commented and emailed with words of encouragement. I still have 3 or 4 emails to return and I’m so sorry I haven’t replied to you yet. I promise that I will and actually there are some drafts that I’ve started and haven’t had a chance to finish yet because, well, I am completely incapable of making anything short and sweet. But I genuinely appreciate the wonderful things you’ve said and stories of your own that you’ve shared. You’ll never know how much I appreciate it!

Since this turned into a lengthy post on its own (imagine that!) I’ll just leave it as is and do a completely separate entry for the real reason I was blogging...

Jamakeover

2010-06-04T10:07:00.002-05:00

After hearing me whine about needing to get in shape for…well…ever I suppose, you’ll all be happy to know that I’ve finally got the motivation I need to get in shape! My sweet little hubby booked us a trip to Jamaica for our 10th anniversary next year (Woohoo!!). That partnered with the fact that I will be THIRTY in December have fueled me to begin my “Jamakeover”. So the big 3-0 is 6 months away and Jamaica is 12 months away so I’ve got a good map laid out for me I think.

Okay, here’s the part where it’s going to get just a little deep so please feel free to bail from reading this post. This is completely for my benefit. I know I’m usually a light-hearted gal but this is part of my Jamakeover plan. (My self-therapy session) If I completely lay it all out there and everyone knows my business then my theory is that I have to see it through. I'm sure some of you already know all of this because I'll pretty much tell anyone anything they want to know about me but I think that actually typing it out will make me feel like a big enough loser to actually do this.

I’m really hoping to make this a lifestyle change. I eat junk. I eat sporadically. I’ve went days without eating at all until 3pm and then nurse a whole bag of jellybeans until about midnight when I discover I’ve eaten them all. Then I usually feel guilty and throw them up. I eat when I’m not hungry and at all hours of the night (it helps me stay awake to work on pictures-at least that’s what I tell myselfJ) So basically I’m just a pig and I will eat whatever is in front of me at whenever presented. That’s bad enough for me but now I’ve got kids to think about. Kynsley is such a candy lover like her mama and if she sees me eating it then of course she’s going to want some! How can I raise them to be good eaters and have good habits when they're mother is a psycho?

I am TERRIFIED that Kynsley will grow up with the same insecurities that I have and have had my entire life. I was a chubby kid. I mean, really, I was. If I had an old photo I could include in this then I totally would. My grandmother (who I love to pieces and don’t hold responsible for my insecurities) used to tell me I was going to be short & fat and Amanda was going to be tall & slim. Every time I went to the doctor as a kid he talked the entire time about my weight, It was all about how heavy I was, how I needed to stop eating so much, try to be more like your sister (Amanda was always rail thin and I don’t think she hit 100lbs until she was in her twenties), if you’re at a birthday party then it was okay to eat maybe 5 chips but otherwise don’t eat that stuff…etc. That’s what I got every trip to the doctor. Then in 6th grade I got really sick and lost a ton of weight. I don’t remember too much about it but I was out of school for weeks and they were testing me for cancer and all kinds of things. I was at the doctor at least weekly and the doctor was singing praises then about how he loved seeing the numbers on the scale dropping. Then he’d worry about was wrong with me. Well I got better and I don’t know what they ever figured out was wrong but I was well and I was “thin” finally and could share clothes with my sister.

Too late. The damage was done. It wouldn't matter if I weighed 90 pounds right now I’d only see a big fat girl. *(sidenote: I think this therapy is working because I’m about to cry typing this) So I’ve lived my life up to this point with that mindset and I really don’t ever expect for that to go away. It’s drilled in me. I’m fat. It’s a strange thing though because I don’t carry that judgment over to other people, it’s reserved only for me. Rarely do I look at someone else and think they’re fat or overweight but I’m insanely critical of myself. So I’ve lived dieting, enjoying getting stomach viruses just to be able to drop a few pounds and never wearing belts unless they’re high waisted because that just points to my fat waist.

I think one of the reasons I loved being pregnant was because for the first time I didn’t feel fat. I was supposed to have a belly and I felt proud of it. Then after back to back babies I went in for my yearly checkup and my doctor told me that my weight was great and not to kill myself trying to get rid of the baby belly because $14,000 worth of surgery was the only way that was going anywhere. She even suggested gaining a little weight to fill it out more and it would look better (is she crazy?!) and gave me a hand out on why dieting needed to stop. So rather than take her advice I just went through periods of bulimia and struggled with it even more.

Well now I’ve had enough. I’ve got my motivation. I’ve been thinking all along that by the time the kids were old enough to remember I really didn’t want them to have memories of their mother obsessing about her weight all the time. Yeah, that time’s here if not a little passed. I don’t want my daughter to be the one typing something like this 28 years from now. **Another sidenote: I know I keep talking about Kynsley and it sounds like I’m not worried about Bryson but weight issues are tougher for girls it seems. Guys just let it roll off their backs and even if they’re a little chubby they can always be funny, right? ** So, I’m starting now. Actually I started Tuesday, June 1st but I just haven’t had the time to type this up until today. I’ve started eating healthier and staying active. Hopefully my kids will get used to healthy habits. I’m still going to eat cookies and cake and candy but just in moderation- and not for entire meals. I’m going to do it the healthy way this time. My goal is not to be super skinny but to be healthy. Inside & out.

So by form of public humiliation, I have now officially begun! I took my measurements but I forgot to bring them with me so I’ll post those later tonight if I have a chance. But my starting weight is: 132. If you know me very well then you know I must be panicking because I hate to step into the 130’s but I’m handling it pretty well.

I’ve eaten good all week (with the exception of splitting some Mongolian beef with Brooke but I deserved a reward) and I’ve ran or walked almost every night and I feel good! I’m excited. I’m planning to post my figures every week as a way of keeping me on track. So feel free to ask me how it’s going or ask me what I weigh or how far I’m running or walking. It’ll keep me motivated. Jamaica & 30 here I come!

Cute Summer Dresses & Windy Days Don't Mix

2010-05-20T15:51:00.000-05:00

If they ever decide to do a modernized version of I Love Lucy somebody needs to let me know. It seems like every day I am getting into some kind of crazy antic that seems exactly like something Lucy would do. On today’s episode…

Since the weather has been so hot and I so love little summer dresses, I picked out a cute little dress to wear to work today. It’s really flowy and hits just above the knee. Kynsley helped me pick out my white 4 inch sandals to go with it. Super cute we thought. (Yeah, she’s only two but the girl’s got style).

Okay, back to the story. Jay called and couldn’t do lunch today so I was left to my own devices to find something to do. I decided to run into Wal-Mart really quick to pick up just a couple of things. No need for a buggy since I was just going to be in and out. Then I noticed they had 2 liter Diet Sundrops on sale for 88¢! JACKPOT!! Y’all know how I love my Diet Sundrop. Well, crap…no buggy. Oh well, I decided I’d just get two and come back later to load up on more. I trek to the self checkout and pay for my four items with cash. At this point I have a purse on my shoulder, a bag on each arm and my change in my hand. I walk outside grinning at everyone I pass because you know I’m annoying like that and get outside to wait on the traffic until it’s my turn to cross over to the parking lot.

Here’s where it all went wrong.

I decide while I’m waiting to take this opportunity to put the change into my purse and retrieve my keys. At this exact moment a big gust of wind blew the money right out of my hand. All the cars stop while I try to chase down my four $1 bills. Naturally they all blew in different directions and I’m scuffling around in my four inch heels trying to daintily squat down to pick them up because I can’t bend over and do it the quick way (see paragraph about my wardrobe selection for the day). Well, turns out there was no need to be dainty because I then realized that the wind had my dress blowing crazily around MY WAIST!!! What with the bags on each arm (and the purse and the keys, etc.) there was no possible way to hold it down. Oh dear. All I could think about was “What underwear did I put on this morning? If I have to be publicly humiliated at least let me have chosen cute panties today…”

I know what you’re thinking. “Alicia. It was four dollars. Why didn’t you cut your losses and save your dignity?!” I’ve been asking myself that same question friends. I’m sure any one of those people where stopped in traffic with all of the commotion would have gladly given me four dollars if I’d just went to the car and stopped flashing the whole parking lot. Why it didn’t occur to me to just walk on to the car as if nothing happened I have no idea. I am happy to say that I let the receipt blow right away. Yep, didn’t even try to chase that one down.

You’d think one would be in tears of humiliation after this debacle but not this girl. All I could do was laugh all the way back to work and think about how much Holly was going to appreciate this story. You see, if I am Lucy reincarnate then Holly is my Ethel. So I got back to work and told my tale and me, Holly & Justin all laughed until we cried. I’m choosing to look on the bright side. I was able to stop traffic at Wal-Mart and most likely every person who saw me got a good laugh out of it too. I’m just hoping that I didn’t know any of them personally…

Realizations

2010-03-10T13:06:00.002-06:00

Realization #1

I have reached a point in my life where a grunt and random comment from a strange dirty man who’s passing by me in a store leaves me feeling more flattered than disgusted. This bothers me on a few different levels, obviously. I’m hoping it’s just a rite of passage for young mothers who have post baby bodies and are nearing the big 3-0. I do apologize to women everywhere and promise I’ll try to do my best to feel completely insulted if there ever happens to be a next time.

Realization #2

I have whined and complained entirely too much about my tailbone being broken/hurting. I know this but if I could somehow describe the pain then I think everyone would completely understand and feel that I am justified. Lately I’ve tried really hard not to complain but even without saying anything the wince and near tears every time I stand up, roll over, pick up a child, turn the wrong way…etc. gives it away. Where I used to want to punch Jay in the face for laughing at me every time the agony hit, I can’t even get mad anymore because it is quite humorous I suppose. So while I’ve realized my excessive complaining the thing that tipped me off that I’d gone too far was a conversation with Kynsley:

Kynsley: “Hey Momma, guess what my monkey backpack’s name is?”
(she was referring to one of those leashes for your child that’s disguised as a “backpack”)

Me: “What did you name him Sweetie?” (There’s no possible way to guess with this child. She comes up with some doozie names, let me tell you. For example she wants Anna Beth’s little brother to be named Tyree—where she got that is anyone’s guess)

Kynlsey: “His name is TAILBONE”.

Me: “…Oh…right…okay”

I guess I know where she got that name from. Clearly she’s heard it a few times.

Realization #3

I missed my calling. I can’t take credit for this realization as it was reached with the help of Jay but he’s dead on I have to say. I totally should have been a character on a Disney show. One of those stupid shows like The Wiggles or Imagination Movers you know? I act like that all the time and don’t get paid for it. Singing? Check. Dancing crazy with children? Check. Saying bazaar, idiotic things and having people laugh at you? Check, check.

See there. It would have been perfect.

Realization #4

I'm really getting older...like...noticeably older. I find myself really enjoying listening to 99.1 at work and I always used to consider that an easy listening station. I keep trying to tell myself that surely they must have changed their format but deep down I'm afraid I know the truth. I also photographed a high school sorority lead-out a couple of weekends ago. Wow. Nothing will age you quite like that.

A couple of special guys

2009-12-22T16:00:00.000-06:00

After quite a long hiatus from the blogging world, my recent birthday has inspired me to find a way to blog! I have been completely overwhelmed with birthday wishes this year and it’s just blown my mind! Now, part of that is largely due to facebook which I’m still fairly new and not so great at but I also got tons of texts, several e-mails and phone calls all to wish little ole me a Happy Day. So I’d like to thank every single one of you for your sweet wishes and I really do cherish each and every one. I am so incredibly lucky to have so many friends and such an awesome family. With that said, I do feel the need to give special mention to a couple of guys who I don’t get to see nearly enough of.

First up…Jeremy! Oh, Jeremy how I miss you and your sweet wife Karen! Jeremy, Karen, Jay & I were at one time pretty inseparable. We had known Jeremy for several years and he & Jay ended up working together where they became great friends and in turn, his fabulous wife Karen & I became very close. Well, the four of us ran around doing anything you can think of. From eating out to karaoke & board games, shopping at Target and planning our “baby competition” we had a blast with those two. Then they had to go and ruin it by moving to Texas J. We have dearly missed our friends-especially when I was pregnant. You see, Jeremy made it known that he thought pregnant chicks were gorgeous and Jay always made fun of him for that. So I was really counting on having him around to make me feel better about my huge self when that day came but I had to suffer through it without him. Well, on my birthday this year Jeremy called and left me the sweetest little voicemail “because a facebook message just wouldn’t do”. How sweet is that?! Absolutely made my day and I can’t express how much I appreciate it. I love them to death and can’t wait to take a road trip to Texas to meet that lucky baby next year!

Next up we have…Justin! I have known Justin literally most of my life. We went to church together, he dated my sister, he was my boss & at one point one of my closest friends. When we worked together we always had the best time no matter if we were stocking shelves or playing rummy (strategically hiding it when customers came in of course). This cat is one of the most thoughtful guys you could ever meet and he NEVER forgets my birthday. I mean never ever. It’s been 7 years or so since we worked together, he lives in a different city and I only see him a handful of times a year but he’s always either the first or one of the first to wish me a happy birthday every year. Well, this year was no different. He wished me happy birthday early on in the day—making a jab at my last year in my twenties—but it still made me smile and made my day special. I love you Justin and feel so lucky to call you a friend!

So there’s my sappy ode to a couple of guys know how to make a gal feel extra special. Not a very interesting return to blogging I know, but I really felt like these two needed a shout out and to know how much they are appreciated.

Clarification, Rethinking and Explination/Apologies

2009-08-20T14:37:00.005-05:00

Clarification: Obviously I don't have a talent for vague blogging. I posted yesterday without naming names because I didn't want to openly call anyone out but the identity of my 2nd "compliment" was quickly exposed! So first of all, I want to make it clear that I was in no way offended by either comment. I merely thought they were funny and could be taken either as a compliment or an insult. After saying that, I apparently misquoted my complimentor (is that a word?), who assured me it was indeed a compliment but it should have been quoted as "...pump some sunshine" rather than "cram some sunshine". I stand corrected and now am and probably will always be, ever-so-lovingly referred to as "sunshine pumper" by him.

Rethinking: After my post about my crush on Adam Durtiz, one of my blog-readers reminded me that I was not alone in my crazy crush and obviously, this man has some skills that appeal to certain women who I'm happy to be in the same category as. Although he's never been married, he has courted the following ladies:

Mary Louise Parker-the chick from Fried Green Tomatoes and now is on Weeds
Monica Potter--Who? You may ask. She's the girl in Patch Adams & I'm sure some other stuff. The song Mrs. Potter's lullaby was written for her.
Courtney Cox-she was in the Scream movies, 3000 to Graceland, oh and a little show called Friends! More importantly, she also starred in the music video for their song A Long December.
Jennifer Anniston-no explanation needed. It was pre-Brad Pitt but still, she's pretty up there on the Hollywood list I'd say.

He was also spotted a few years ago out and about with Mary-Kate Olsen but I choose to believe he was just mentoring her because I really don't think my Adam is a creepy 40-something year old who would date an 18 year old. Never! He may have dirty-looking fake dread locks but he's really not dirty people...

So, I have rethought my stance on my crush being strange and crazy. Clearly other women find him interesting too.

Explanation/Apologies: I really don't know why I'd say "apologies" because no one really cares. So I realize that I sound like one of those "I'm so sorry I haven't posted pictures of my kids for you to look at! I'm sure you're all just waiting by your coumputers to see there faces" mommies. But I suppose I am apologizing and explaing for the sake of my children in case they ever see their little friends mom's blogs with pictures of everything. I don't want them to think their mother never cared enough to work them into a post. So, the following blog titles will hopefully sooner, rather than later, be coming to a blog near you:

Was that M & M really worth it?
Daddy's (maybe not such a good idea) Birthday Gift
Bryson Goes to School
My Little Protege'
What ever happened to the Pictures from that Atlanta Trip?
It's been 10 years...really?
3! Oh, it's the Magic Number

The reason I haven't posted these is because they actually, really and truly have pictures to go with them!! Hard to believe, I know. You see, my only "blog-world" time is while I'm technically working. At home computer time can only be used for work because I stay far enough behind as it is. So usually, while I'm running a gallery or something else that ties up photoshop for a while, I'll copy pictures to my jump drive so I can bring them to work and use them in my blogs! Now, remembering to do that is what proves to be the problem. For some reason I don't ever think of it until I'm actually at work and have time to type a blog. So, I will try to do better by my youngins.

Compliments...(maybe sneaky, back-handed ones, but I'll take them)

2009-08-19T14:20:00.002-05:00

In the past couple of weeks I've been enlightened with two odd little comments that left me wondering...Was that a compliment, or an insult? Me, being the ever-so-annoying optimist, chose to view them as compliments. I'll let you be the judge:

Compliment/Insult #1:

I was told by someone who I hadn't seen in a while:

"You know, I think I'd trade my boobs for your figure."

Hmm...how to take this? Well, let's be realistic here. Anyone with half decent eye-sight can tell that

A. My figure is the last one a person would want. I've had 2 kids people-in under a year and half- so you can imagine the havoc that wreaks on a body. So there goes the figure;

and

B. I have the least-desireable rack one could lay their eyes upon. The only time I've had bosoms larger than an a-cup was when I was pregnant with Kynsley (oh, how Jay longs for those good ole' days)

I have no problem admitting those things. So, more than likely it wasn't meant as a compliment as much as a slight to my lack-luster assets but I choose to take it that this person may have meant that I don't look quite as bad as they expected after having two kids.

Compliment/Insult #2:

Jay called the other day and asked me if I wanted to join him and a couple of guys he eats with from time to time for lunch. I was the last to arrive (shocking, I know) and then I sat down and spoke to everyone. Then one of the guys turned to Jay and said:

"See what I mean. She's just always so perky. If somebody's having a bad day then she'll just take some sunshine and cram it up their butt."

Lovely. Just call me "butt-cramming sunshine girl". Deep down I'm almost certain this person meant "YOUR WIFE IS SO ANNOYING! TELL HER TO STOP SMILING AT ME ALREADY!!"

but...Polly Sunshine here has decided that he was just refreshed to see a friendly person out there in this world. (When did it become odd to speak to people and smile anyway?) So, I'm sorry. I am overtly friendly. I realize this and have honestly tried to tame it but I'm afraid it's out of control.

If you've been around us much then you've probably figured out this is one of the things that annoys my husband the most about me. He has been embarrased by me on more than one occastion (just ask him to tell you the story about the Mexican restaraunt if he hasn't already). When we went to New York several years ago Jay insisted that I stop speaking to people on the street. I just couldn't manage the not speaking AND not smiling part though.

I'm afraid it's rubbing off on my children too. They wave at every car that passes as we enter Walmart and speak to everyone we meet in the store. Bryson walked up to a mannequin at a store yesterday, tried to shake it's hand and said "Good to meet you. How are you today?" I don't think there's much hope for them...

High Times in Nashville

2009-08-18T11:51:00.002-05:00

Last Tuesday Jay & I headed up to Nashville to see the Counting Crows (see previous post for my perhaps-questionable love affiar with this most fabulous group). Well, hind-sight's 20/20 so the saying goes and of course if I, Superwoman, had anticipated how bad my little procedure was going to be would probably not have scheduled it for the day before this event. Not my brightest idea but, hey. Too late! So while I was unable to sit up at a desk and not coherent enough to be at work, I did manage to drag myself out of bed and put on some real clothes because let's be honest. Nothing was going to keep me away from my band! I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be able to clap very much but I decided I'd just make up for it with my screaming and singing.

So as we were leaving, I took a pain pill. For some reason it takes a good hour and a half or so for those things to kick in & they make me feel really sick so I thought by the time we got up there it should be in effect & maybe the nausea would have passed. I reclined for the trip up to Nashville and rested. Oh, and I guess the meds must have kicked in a bit because apparently I had a phone converstaion with a mother-of-the-bride which I failed to remember so she had to call me back the next day and have the whole conversation again...whoops. (Luckily she's a super-sweet lady who's quickly becoming a favorite of mine!) Anyway, by the time we got there I was feeling pretty good.

The concert was at the Ryman. AMAZING place to see a show! My new favorite. We found our seats (right in the middle and we could see perfectly). It really didn't look like there would be a bad seat in the place. Jay went and bought me a t-shirt and some popcorn and then we nestled in for the show. The first bit's a little blurry (due to the pain meds) but I remember enough to say...

WOW. What a show. I have never been to a concert as good-ever. If you've ever been to a concert, usually there's an opening act that plays a set, then the 2nd act, then the main headliner. Not this show. The show opened with every member of every band on stage playing and singing. It was UH-MAZING!!! They all sang each other's songs and then there were a few solo spots where the others would leave for a couple songs. It was unbeliveable. It was like one giant jam session and we got to be right in the middle of it.

There were 2 other bands with them Augustana, which I'd heard of but only heard the song "Boston" (great song) and the other was Michael Franti & Spearhead whom I'd never heard of. I didn't really care much about these but now I'm a huge fan. Augustana is more main-stream and they were terrific. (Check them out at www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnqvjD7Kxs4)

Michael Franti is reggae. I know that's not typically what you'd picture me listening to but I've never in my life seen a better performer. He had everyone in the place dancing and singing. Yes, me, the bible school girl who's never been to a dance or ever learned how was dancing my little heart out. I could blame this on the pain meds but I really think anyone who was there would have been dancing too. He was just fabulous! (Check them out here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoaTl7IcFs8)

Of course the main attraction was absolutely wonderful and left me feeling all warm inside. I was in quite a bit of pain by the end of the night but it was so worth it. I couldn't exactly work a camera and didn't think to have Jay take pictures but I made friends with the girl next to me so she sent me the link to her (blurry, but better than nothing) pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=95185&id=649349451&l=33690871d8

Oh, and if you look at her pictures, you'll notice that apparently people get quite dressed up for concerts these days. It had been a while since I'd been to one so I felt a bit underdressed sitting next to her but she was really sweet & I'm glad she shared her pictures with me.

Just a little sidenote: The girl across the aisle from us must have been on something much stronger than my loratab 7.5's. You would've thought she was at woodstock. She was flailing about and sweating..then all of the sudden she be sitting down with her head on the pew in front of her like she was passed out. Then she'd be right back up in the aisle again and the old voluteer lady would have to drag her back to her seat. Crazy. It's always funny to me to be around people like that because it's so foreign to me. Jay's used to it and he can usually even have a pretty good guess of what their on because he sees so much of it in his line of work. He said he was pretty sure she was on ecstasy by the way she was acting. Interesting & quite entertaining to watch. She was almost as much fun to watch as the show...almost.

"You're not Superwoman Alicia!"

2009-08-18T09:31:00.003-05:00

This is what Jay reminded me of last week--not that I claim to be mind you. I just always seem to underestimate how long things will take, how hard things will be, how much I can do in a 24 hour period...you know...basically everything. I don't know why. Everything just sounds so easy until you're in the middle of it and it's not.

So, I've had this pesky cyst on my hand for a few years now. It's been getting bigger and started getting in the way & hurting quite a bit when I used my wrist very much (it's on my dominate hand). Since it's directly in line with my trigger finger I've been putting off having anything done until I had a couple weeks between photo shoots. So I had weddings on the 1st & 8th but nothing scheduled until a wedding on the 29th. Perfect! The doctor said it was no big deal they'd just take it out & I'd be on my way. Fully functional in a week. While he was at it he decided to go ahead and take off one behind my ear too that's been there for years. So I'm expecting to go in, have them cut out then head on it to work...ha!

After I asked him if that would be okay then he told me "Well, we will have to put you to sleep so you'll probably not want to work that day." Okay. Not exactly what I planned but still, not bad. So Jay decided to take off work to go to the hospital with me. I told him there was really no need. I could get a ride there, it'd take a couple of hours and then get a ride home but he insisted. I had to be there at 8:00 Monday so we dropped the kids off with my folks and I told them we'd be back by 10:00 to pick them up. Well, about 1:00 that afternoon I woke up in the hospital to miserable pain and found the nurse shooting me up with morphine and my hand wrapped up like I'd broken it! What?!! I was expecting a band-aid..maybe a gauze pad & some tape but a big 'ole bandage & instructions not to remove it or shower for 2-3 days??

He said the cyst on my hand ended up being about the size of a golf ball so maybe that's why it's been worse than expected. So I was sent on my way with a perscription for pain medicine and a husband making fun of me for thinking this would be a piece of cake & he kept telling me "You're not Superwoman, Alicia!" Naturally, I don't remember too much about that day because I was under anesthesia. I do vaguely remember being in the drive-thru at the pharmacy and raising up to tell Monique "I'm sorry to be rude..I'm just drunk!" Hmm...I may need to go by and apologize for that. I'm sure Jay was understandably embarassed. I was undoubtedly drooling and of course my afro was bigger than usual from lying on it all day in the hospital. Lovely.

So, needless to say, I did not go in to work that day. Or the next. I've really been in a fog ever since. I don't know if it's being put to sleep or the pain medicine but I just can't seem to snap out of it! I'm off to get my stitches out on my lunch break so I may ask him about it. Oh! And now that the swelling has gone down my hand still has the exact same knot! I hope it's just swelling because I don't know that I would do this again.

Despite not going to work last Tuesday, I was able to drag myself to the concert. That deserves an entire post of its own...:)

My Celebrity Crush

2009-08-07T03:53:00.000-05:00

Not what you were expecting, I'm sure. I realize that I most likely do not share this crush with any sane women in America. While I appreciate the beauty of Johnny Depp, I'm just drawn to a man who can sing and compose. He may not have hit the jackpot on the looks but the way he writes and sings...ahh. Just makes me smile and feel all warm inside.

It all began back in 1993...

I don't know that I have ever wanted anything so badly in my entire life as I did this album. I remember distinctly going to Camelot in the mall and BEGGING my mama to buy it. I couldn't seem to express to her how much I needed it. I remember a man next to us laughing at me begging. Finally, she agreed--but with a condition. She would buy it for me but I could not have it until she had read all of the lyrics and listened to it. So then I had to wait. and wait. and wait. I asked her every day "Have you finished yet?!" until she finally told me if I didn't quit asking her that then I'd never get it. I can' remember how long it was-probably only a week but it seemed like an eternity-she released it to me. It was all over after that. I had been exposed to the beautiful lyrics of Adam Durtiz and have never been the same. I know this sounds crazy-it is. I have no problem admitting that. Most people have either never heard of this band or if they have then they don't like their music. This doesn't hurt my feelings at all. They just don't get it. I'm not the biggest fan of techno music but I'm sure it speaks to some people.

I always used to say that I would marry the guy who took me to a Counting Crows concert so when Jay took me to one 9 years ago then I was pretty much stuck with him. Obviously I'm kidding about being stuck with him but I did keep my word & now after 9 long years I get to see them again! Jay got us tickets to their concert so on Tuesday we're heading up to Nashville to the Ryman to be enlightened. You can look for a big smile on my face come Wednesday!!

Here are some a couple of other celebrity crushes that I'm longing to see...

Ben Harper

Beautiful Man. Beautiful Voice. His music can make you laugh & cry. It just makes your soul smile.

Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon

Wow. Just listen to one song. That's all it will take. His voice is so raw & different...love it! (Thanks Angel for turning me onto this band!)

New Photography Blog!

2009-07-31T15:38:00.002-05:00

I'm working hard on my new website which I'm so excited about! So to go along with that I figured it be a good idea to seperate my personal blog and photo blog. So here's my new photography blog:

http://alicialooneyphotography.blogspot.com/

Hopefully my website announcement will be soon behind!!

Pictures from the World's Worst Luau

2009-07-30T14:32:00.005-05:00

The Birthday Girl!

My sweet little hula girl

I had 3 people offer to buy the cake for me just to avoid me making it. Why is it that other people can see your craziness when you can't? I should have taken them up on the offer. It wasn't hard to do it just took sooo much time (which I don't exactly have excess of these days). I have to say I was pretty proud of it though!

Why won't my kids pose for a picture like this with me?

This is what I get:

Gift time!

Kynsley ADORES Emma. They were running through the sprinkler--a safe distance from the pool but after the earlier events of the day I made Kynsley wear her floaties anyway.

I'm sure Jay's folks loved those grassy little feet in the pool!

Have I mentioned that I hate throwing birthday parties?

2009-07-20T16:02:00.005-05:00

Seriously....hate it. Anyone that knows me at all can tell you that I'm the most laid-back person in the world. I let things roll of my back and try to spin everything in a positive way so I don't get stressed out. I can have 7 people waiting on picture orders, 4 albums to design with 3 shoots lined up for the weekend, 2 loan closings in one day and auditors in the office and you'd never guess that I had that much going on. Maybe because that's a fairly normal week, I don't know but throw a birthday party for one of my children into the mix and I'm a hot mess.

Sure they all start out fun...the planning...picking a theme...deciding on a cake...choosing a birthday outfit...

then it ends by staying up until 3:00 in the morning working on a stinking cake and then having both of your children almost drown at the party.

So I know all of you attendees have written about how much fun the party was...well if you happen to be reading this and did not attend:

1. I'm sorry you weren't invited

2. It was awful--you didn't miss a thing

well, except

The WATER SLIDE--oh wait, that's right, it NEVER SHOWED UP

BRYSON whipping the pool with his green swimming noodle and getting so into it that he fell in head first--I didn't actually see the incident but I did see him just as Pawpaw was pulling him out. He did really good-I was quite proud. He was doggie-paddling his little heart out and managed to have his nose & eyes above water anyway..granted his eyes were about the size of saucers but he did good!

BRYSON's clothes and football "underpants" as he calls them proudly displayed on the bush for all to see while they dried out from his unexpected dip into the pool

ME climbing into the pool clothes and all (with cell phone in pocket) to pull out my 2 year old a/k/a the birthday girl herself when she ventured past the steps of the pool while I turned my back to get her floaties

An 8 month old baby cracking its head on the side of the pool so loud it silenced the whole party (thank goodness I'm not responsible for that one--by the way he's just fine as far as I know)

ME not getting my act together and cutting the cake before guests were already leaving! (sorry about that)

So that's the nutshell of what you missed. Sounds like fun, huh?

So on top of apologizing for the party itself, I would like to apologize for my parenting skills. Letting both my kids fall in? It's a wonder DHR hasn't already come and taken them. Jay was gone to pick up pizza on the first incident and I'm not sure where he was when Kynsley had her turn under water but I accept the blame. I was extremely negligent. I guess I just figured with daddy, aunts, uncles and both sets of grandparents, someone would watch my kids while I did all of the party running around stuff. Well, I will definitley not make that mistake again! Unless I have specifically asked someone to keep an eye on them I will not assume anything.

Until 2 weeks ago Kynsley would not venture past the steps even with someone holding her. She finally got in further with Jay holding her a couple of weeks ago but still wasn't too sure about it. All she's ever wanted to do is sit on the side and kick her feet. Naturally she'd pick this day to be brave. I had literally just put her swimsuit on 30 seconds before and had turned my back to get her floaties and there she went.

Oh and apparently, I did not show enough motherly panic as I rescued my child. Holly said I just casually walked down the steps of the pool and pulled her out. Poor little Kynsley's head went under and she just slowly sunk with her arms stretched out beside her and those blue eyes looking up hoping someone would get her. It seems like more often than not I just feel like the biggest failure in the parent department.

So, technically it wasn't my party but I'll still cry if I want to.

P.S. I'll post the "fun-filled" pictures as soon as I can finish the wedding pics from last weekend and get them downloaded.

Shutdown threats, sunglasses handicap and new clothes!

2009-07-16T12:57:00.003-05:00

Jay has been urged by a couple of husbands to shut my blog down. Thankfully, he never reads the blogs or he might actually give that some thought. On the other hand, I know of at least one case where a wife read her husband my blog about Jay's thoughtfulness and after calling him a jerk, he then proceeded to come up with a very thoughtful surprise for his wife the next day! See there, even though I fear my blog is slowly changing from random tidbits to more of an ode to my fabulous husband it looks like it's helping at least one husband who might need just a little help in the idea department to do something special for his Mrs. I hate to put you through this gushing about Jay again but he just keeps on with this stuff! I don't know if it's because he's gotten some feedback and feels like he has to do something for me to blog about or what but he's been even more over the top than usual lately! (So keep the bragadocious comments coming ladies;)

Sweet Thing #1

He got me a father's day present. You read that correctly. He got me a father's day present because I made him a father I suppose. (any excuse to buy me something will do for him) I think I mentioned in my turmoil over what to get him that I ended up letting him get some sunglasses he's been wanting. He has to have perscription lenses so he had to pick them out. Well, he wanted me to look at the frames before he ordered so I did. He had me try on some pairs while there just to "see how great the lenses were". This may seem obvious to all of you that I had a pair of sunglasses coming my way but it in no way crossed my mind because...

SUNGLASSES ARE NOT MY FRIEND

Anyone that knows me very well has undoubtedly heard me mention that there has never been a pair of sunglasses created on this planet that look good on me. I'm sure you're all thinking "oh, I bet there are some out there that would look good on you!" NOPE. Don't waste your time. People have tried before. One of my best friends, Anna, just knew I must be being overly dramatic about the topic so she had me try a ton of them on in Target one day. After the 15th pair or so she finally said "You don't even try to look good in them" She hasn't argued with me about looking bad in sunglasses since. Even the clerk when Jay decided he wanted me to try some on kept handing me different pairs saying "hmm...how 'bout trying these. No....let's try these..." and so on. He knew it. I'm just not cut out for sunglasses. I've accepted it and just buy any $5 pair at walmart that will serve the purpose. Well, Jay knows this too but hasn't quite accepted the fact. So when he picked up his uber-expensive sunglasses and brought them home guess what...you guessed it...my very own pair!! I'm sure you can sense the sarcasam because I don't know how I could type it any thicker. I really, really appreciate his effort. It's so sweet of him and looking through them is great. Just don't look at me while I'm wearing them. Or do--you're sure to get a good laugh.

Oh, and I failed to mention--you'd think that he would have gotten an understated pair knowing my handicap. Not Jay! He got these big white sunglasses with amber lenses. The look amazing...off my face...when I put them on...I look like Speed Racer.

Sweet Thing #2.

I cleaned house Monday night! I'm sure that doesn't sound too much like news to most of you but with me juggling the jobs and kids the house is a little neglected. Hey, better it than one of the kids, right? I manage to keep the basics done but deep cleanings are a little spread out. Well, I stayed up until 2:30 scrubbing and cleaning. I could barely get out of bed the next morning--or 4 hours later, whatever you want to call it. I inherited my mother's back and when I over exert with scrubbing--especially 2 days after a wedding I pay for it. Well, my sweet hubby, to show his appreciation had a surprise for me when I got home from work on Tuesday. He had went shopping and bought 2 new outfits for me! Say what you will but having a metro husband is priceless!!

Okay, I'm done with the bragging for today. So husbands...get your dirty comments ready.

What's that heaven close to?

2009-07-09T11:49:00.003-05:00

How in the world do you explain death to a 3 year old?

It doesn't help much that Bryson is the most curious little booger ever. He wants to know exactly how everything works, why it works that way, what happens next, etc... Mama Pearlie's passing has brought on all of those tough questions about death that I don't guess you're ever really prepared to explain. Since Jay was asked to officiate the funeral he was a little bit pre-occupied so that left me to deal with the questions. It has brought quite a bit of humor with it though.

I was always a little iffy on the "he/she went to heaven" line. I kind of felt like that wasn't my place to tell people and what if I was lying...you know-typical over thinker that I am. Well, clearly people tell children that because it's the easiest way to try and help them make some since of death without scaring them and saying "he/she may be in heaven but they might be in hell too, we just don't know". I realized this pretty quickly and went with the "she's in heaven" bit. When we were getting ready to go to the visitation he asked

"So now we'll just go visit Mama Pearlie at the funeral home & not the nursing home? I just want to go to the nursing home."

I told him the we were visiting her there for a couple of days so we could say goodbye before she went to heaven.

"Oh, okay, okay." (his resonse for almost everything)

In the car on the way to the funeral home it continued:

"Well, what's that heaven close to? Is that heaven over there with the black mailbox?"

I explained that it was the same heaven where God & Jesus are and when we pray 'Father in heaven' that was what we were talking about.

"Well, can we go visit her there in heaven?"

So I told him if we're really good and do all the things God tells us to do then we'll get to go there one day. Now I really felt like I had made some progress. Getting the ole message in there...maybe it'll stick a little bit.

Like I said in the previous post, the kids were able to visit Mama Pearlie the day before her death. Her mind was coming and going in the end and while the kids were there she kept talking about needing to cook a turkey. Well ever since then Bryson keeps saying "Mama Pearlie sure does want to cook that turkey. Can I eat some?" I think he reminded every single person at the funeral home that she really just needed some turkey.

I know opinions are vast on letting kids view bodies at funeral homes but for our kids I thought it was best. I thought it would confuse them even more if they never saw her again. They did totally fine with it. They kept wanting to see her "just one more time". Every time we went to potty at the funeral home Bryson would ask "Is it okay to flush it or will that wake Mama Pearlie up?"

When it came time for the funeral, there was so much family that it overfilled the designated family section so we were seated in the main chapel. When they brought the casket in, Bryson yells "Why did they close Mama Pearlie's little door?" (on the casket) Well, Jay preached the funeral-thankfully Ashley was there to help me with the kids and then it came time for them to take the casket out to the car. Bryson asks, as loudly as possible "Where are they taking Mama Pearlie?! Are they gonna roll her around the house?"

Ahhh....3 years old. Lovely age. It's just so hard to explain the events. The concept of a soul and body are hard enough for me to understand much less relay them to a 3 year old. Kynsley just rolls with whatever. I don't know if it's her age or that she's just that much like me but she was just happy to be there. She wanted to stay right with the body at the funeral home though. She didn't want to leave Mama Pearlie's side (except for when Pawpaw took them to the break room for crackers and pizza of course). Overall the kids were extrememly well behaved. I was pretty proud of them throughout everything.

Mama Pearlie

2009-07-06T15:27:00.005-05:00

When Jay and I started dating he had 3 great-grandmothers living. I thought that was really unique because mine had passed away when I was a little girl so to be a teenager and have that many living was just amazing to me. Last week, Jay's remaining great-grandmother, Mama Pearlie passed away.

She was 91 and lived a great life. She was 20 years old when she married Jay's g-grandfather. She became pregnant soon after and lost the baby 6 months into the pregnancy. Her husband was so disappointed he wanted to try and have another child right away. He worked road construction and during the winter came down with pneumonia from working in the harsh conditions. He died just a few days later. Although she did not know it at the time, Mama Pearlie was 17 days pregnant with Jay's grandfather when her husband passed away. I cannot imagine living through that--especially during the depression. She was a single parent for 5 years until she re-married.

Mama Pearlie was one of the most spiritual people I have ever met. Every time you were around her she was talking about God and spiritual things. Any time we'd visit we would always find her reading her Bible. When each of our children were born she gave them each a Bible with a special message in it. She always told us "Make sure they know the Lord--that's your job." She was a very wise women.

During the last few months she has been in the nursing home and the kids loved going to visit her. Kynsley always wanted to make sure Mama Pearlie's feet were covered up so they wouldn't get cold and Bryson always liked helping Nana wash Mama Pearlie's gowns and take them back to her. The kids ended up staying with Nana last Tuesday and went to visit Mama Pearlie for over an hour. Although she hadn't known anyone that day, Melissa (Nana) said that she recognized them right away and said "Bring my babies over here for some kisses." I am so glad it ended up working out that they went up there that day. (They were originally going to stay with Angela but Anna Beth was sick). Mama Pearlie got very bad that night and passed away the next day. I really hope the kids will remember her. I know they're young but hopefully they'll be able to remember just a little of what a great women their great-great-grandmother was.

This is exactly what I was talking about...

2009-06-26T11:12:00.004-05:00

This past Saturday I photographed my cousins's wedding. Since I was working, I left the decision of whether or not he came with the kids up to him because I knew I wouldn't be able to help him with them. That was just the excuse he needed because like most men, weddings aren't his idea of a fun time--especially outside weddings in the middle of a 98 degree June day. I left the house at 12:30 to head to Huntsville to start pics. The wedding was at 5:00 and I think I left around 9:45-10:00 heading home. LONG day out in the heat! At the reception I started to panic a little because my battery was on the last bar. I didn't know how much juice I had left and you can't go buy batteries for my camera. No store in Huntsville stocks them and I've been meaning to order a back-up one but just never remember until I need it you know? I managed to squeeze it out and on the way home I called Jay and asked him to remind me to get online and order one as soon as I got home. So I finally get home around 11:00 and he told me that he found my battery online and left it pulled up so I could make sure it was the right one before he ordered it for me. I was already thinking--awesome, that's really sweet of you! So I open the door to the computer armoire and this is what I saw:

He had gotten me a 32g Ipod Touch--preloaded with all of the Counting Crows albums (the love of my music life) & all the songs on his playlist, a car adapter, a little docking station so I can sit it on my desk at work and a gift card to Itunes so I can download more music. Oh--and he already had it setup through my e-mail! There was also a card with a sweet note he'd written in it.

Bryson was still awake of course and was sooo excited! He kept saying "Momma! Look at the bow! Look at the bow!!" I finally said "Yeah, that's a great bow isn't it?" and then he told me "I picked it out all by myself for you at Walmart! It's red. I paid for it all by myself." I said "Really! You paid for it? Out of your piggy bank?!" He said "Yeah! Um...no. Daddy paid for it but I picked it out all by myself!!" How sweet....my two boys!

See this exactly proves my point. He always gets amazing gifts for me and goes way over the top. You know what he got for our anniversary? I told him to go pick out some sunglasses. In my own defense, it's not quite as bad as I make it sound. He has to get them through the eye doctor so I couldn't very well know what perscription he needed now could I? Still, it's nothing compared to what he did for me of course. What I do love though, is that even though he doesn't realize it, he's teaching Bryson how a great husband treats his wife. Hopefully one day Bryson will grow up to spoil some lucky (and I hope deserving) girl just like he watched his Daddy appreciate and spoil his Momma.

So as I sit here typing while listening to "Sundays" on my new Ipod in my little purple docking station (oh I didn't mention he got my favorite color in the docking station that sweetheart) I can't help but smile because I'm definitely one lucky girl:)

ABC's of Me

2009-06-19T13:51:00.029-05:00

I did this book for Christmas presents last year and I think it turned out cute. Some of you have already seen it but I thought I'd post it anyway because I never post pictures, just rants about mindless things so here are the ABC's of Bryson & Kynsley:

Know a good sitter?

2009-06-18T13:57:00.002-05:00

They really don't have to be good. Just trustworthy enough to leave my kids with. You're probably thinking I'm a bad mother right now (which may be true) but I really just mean that I need someone to watch the kids for a week, feeding them, change Kynsley's diapers, make sure they don't get hurt, etc. I'm not expecting puppet shows and paper mache animals at the end of the week.

So...if anybody knows anyone that's interested please let me know! Naturally, if you know me at all you will expect nothing less than short-notice and that is exactly what you're getting:) Granny has to have knee surgery next Wednesday the 24th so I'm looking for someone from Wednesday, June 24th-Thursday, July 2nd. She said she should be fine by Monday but Granny deserves recoup time and probably a break from my two to be honest.

I have no idea what the going babysitter rate is but I'll pay whatever he/she thinks is fair or trade pics they'd rather do that--or both. Whatever-I can get-I really just need a babysitter.
Oh, and they can keep them at my house or I'll take them to them. I'm totally flexible!

Thanks everyone!!

Help!

2009-06-16T15:48:00.003-05:00

I'm the world's WORST gift-giver. Ever. I mean, seriously bad. I have good intentions but I just can't ever seem to come up with anything good. I start thinking on ideas months in advance and still end up scrambling a week ahead of time to muster up some pitiful gift.

The worst part? Jay is the world's BEST gift-giver. No joke. I am spoiled beyond belief. He has given me so much jewelry that I could wear a different nice piece every day for probably a month. He surprised me with canvas paintings taken from photographs I'd done of the kids for mother's day once. All of my camera equipment is thanks to him. He got me the cutest leather camera bag that cost an absolute fortune and I really didn't need just because I mentioned how awesome they were. (It really is--polka dot lining and everything--I'll show you sometime). When he worked nights I would frequently wake up to fresh flowers and a sweet card on the nightstand with a long note written in it. He surprises me with trips and concert tickets to my favorite group. If he sees a pair of shoes or an outfit that he thinks I would like then he'll buy it and surprise me with it just because "I'm a good wife & mother" (he thinks--we know better). When I read Twilight I just mentioned how excited I was to start the next one and I'd have to look for it on my lunch break the next day. Well the next morning he had all 4 of the next books stacked up for me when I woke up. (He even stole the 2nd one from the Athens State Library because Walmart didn't have it but he had ordered it online and had it overnighted so I got it the next day and he could return that one). The other day he saw a lady with a cool necklace on that he thought I'd like so he asked her where she got it and then went straight there and bought me one. I could go on and on and on....

Sounds great, right? WRONG!!! It's awful. Don't get me wrong, I realize how extremely lucky I am and I am ever so grateful to have such an amazing husband but the thing is ...this makes for a miserable partnership. He always gets me amazing gifts and puts so much thought into them and I always feel like an idiot because I have some awful gift for him. Sometimes, I'm almost ashamed to admit (notice I say almost because clearly if you've read my blog then you know I have no shame) I've even just not gotten him anything at all because I figured what's the point? Why should I spend money on something he really doesn't want, need and probably won't ever use? How does he come up with so many great ideas when I can't come up with one for him?!

I've almost come to the conclusion that it's his own fault. Any time he wants something he buys it. The only great ideas I can come up with are the ones too expensive for him to go buy which also means I can't exactly go get them either. So I need your help. Father's Day is Sunday and our anniversary is Monday--Double Whammy!! Bryson thinks he needs a remote control (typical male, huh?) and Kynsley wants to get him "Peeeeejamas" so I figured I'd let the kids get their own gifts for him but he deserves a real one too. Any suggestions??

Nana & Pawpaw are leaving :(

2009-06-15T13:56:00.002-05:00

Jay's dad recently took a job in North Carolina and they will be leaving us this week. It still seems very surreal. We've always talked about how lucky we were to have both are families living so close. Then for a while we were worried about my folks moving--they were even to the point of packing--but we prayed every night that they wouldn't have to go. Turns out we should have been praying for Nana & Pawpaw too because it worked out for Granny & Poppy but now they're having to move. If it was just me & Jay it wouldn't be a big deal but now that we have the kids I'm just heart-broken. My kids ADORE Nana & Pawpaw. They are always so excited when we go over there and beg to spend the night. I just don't know how I'm going to break it to them that we won't be seeing them very often anymore. I know we'll be traveling back and forth a lot but it still won't be the same.

On a selfish note...(oh come on, you knew it was coming)...Nana & Pawpaw are our go-to babysitters. If we ever want a date night or if I have pictures and Jay's working too then they were our sitters. They're the only people who the kids spend the night with. My parents would let them but they keep them all week so I really don't like to ask them to do overnight or Saturday duty. They usually only kept them overnight maybe once every 4-5 months but since they found out they were moving they've wanted to see them as much as possible so the kids have spent the night the last 3 Fridays in a row which I'm afraid will make this move all the worse. Bryson & Kynsley have gotten accustomed to seeing them so much & staying over that I'm sure there will be many fits over this.

I was going to include the going away festivites in this post but after re-thinking it I'm going to devote an entire post to that. You all know I tend to be a bit long-winded or handed...whatever you'd say in the blog world.

Not so grand news it turns out...

2009-06-15T13:40:00.003-05:00

I fully intended to do an entire blog post about the pacifier fairy coming a couple of weeks ago and taking Bryson's pacy leaving him a Mickey Mouse watch (Sidenote: The watch happened to be mine when I was 7 and doesn't work but while we may think Bryson is brilliant he is in fact not a genious and can't tell time yet so doesn't seem to notice). Then Anna Beth had to show him up and ditch hers before age 2 so it really doesn't seem that grand anymore. La-de-da Anna Beth. Thanks for stealing my boy's thunder.

I'm kidding of course. Well done Anna Beth! Kynsley refused to suck a pacy even though I tried to cram one down her throat for the first 6 months of her life before finally giving up and just letting her have her thumb. My mother secretly thinks I'm a failure because of this, I know. She hasn't come right our and said it but when I started to wain in my forcing it she gave me those "tsk-tsk" looks and I knew. So yes, I will have to somehow break her of the thumb. I don't really think I'll be able to swing a "thumb fairy" so I'll have to concoct some other way. Don't bother with the dipping her thumb in something gross method because that child will eat anything. She'll even try to lick the bug wipes which are beyond gross. I'll come up with something though. I think I'm gonna make a go at potty training first though. My goal is to have her trained by Disney World and I think that's doable. We'll worry about the thumb after that. She just looks so sweet rubbing her little nose while she sucks her thumb...I'm not quite ready to give up my baby just yet:)

Back by popular demand...

2009-06-11T12:17:00.002-05:00

Random thoughts for the day!! (Okay, so maybe it's not by popular demand but that just sounded better)

1. Today is one of those days that you just wish you could slip away and not tell anyone where you were. Just leave, you know for a day or so to just collect yourself. Problem is that does not exist and even if I could do that it wouldn't work. My mind never shuts off. Even when Jay gets me spa packages for a "relaxation" day (which I REALLY appreciate, don't get me wrong) all I can think about while I'm getting a massage or a facial is everything that I should be doing while I'm wasting time on myself. No matter how many hours I work and how little I sleep, I think I will always be 3 steps behind. Remember the movie Multiplicity? I haven't seen that in years but I've been thinking about it a lot lately. If I could just clone a couple more of me, even if each was dumber than the last I think they could still do a lot of the things I need to get done. Oh well, just daydreaming and my luck since they'd be clones of me then they would probably take on about 12 more obligations each and then I'd be in even worse shape! Before you start thinking well, if I'm that busy then why do I waste time blogging--I'm technically on the clock. Shocking...I know. I'm completely abusing my employer. I'm actually on hold listening to elevator music waiting on the barely engish-speaking person to get back on the phone so I can sort out a work related issue. Multi-tasking at its finest:)

2. Yesterday I took the young-uns to see Nicole & get their teeth cleaned. Then we ventured to the mall and as I was walking in with Kynsley holding my left hand and Bryson holding my right I just had one of those "How in the world did I get here and what am I doing with these children?" moments. I just really do not feel old enough or responsible enough to have a 2 & 3 year old. I was literally walking into the mall thinking wow...I really am an adult. I have kids and everything. It's just strange how quickly your whole life changes. I have no idea why that hit me at that moment but not much about me makes sense as you probably already have guessed.

3. Kidbop. Need I say more? I would like to get a hold of whoever had the idea to create this awfulness and then whoever decided to package them in Happy Meals! If I have to listen to Life is a Highway with 7 year olds singing in the background on repeat for one more car ride I may just intentionally run into a telephone pole. The old version was bad enough and then Rascal Flatts had to go and redo it. There are a few other songs on the happy meal kidbop cd but Bryson refuses to listen to them. As soon as it goes to another song he says "That's not my CD!!! Play my CD again!" But I can't say that I'm too upset by that because the next song is Fergie and that would just absolutely be more than I can handle.

Somehow my blogs always turn into a gripe session. I'm sorry about that...I'm generally a very peppy, optimistic person but for some reason blogging about all of my issues is theraputic. My usual therapist, a/k/a Holly, should be back in about 3 weeks so maybe my blogging will be a little more upbeat then.

Why?

2009-06-09T10:49:00.003-05:00

Bryson has hit the "Why?" stage with full force. It's so funny to watch him trying to figure something out. He's such a little thinker it just kills me!

I have a little photo album with pictures of me & Jay when we were dating. Bryson & Kynsley like to look through it and drag it all over the house (like everything else they can get their hands on). Last night Bryson brought it to me and had it opened to a page from our Senior trip. On one page we were on the bus and on the other we were taking a nap in a hotel room (there were people in the background & everything so don't get any ideas about where this is headed...) So here's how the conversation progressed:

"Mommy, did Daddy lose me & Kynsley in this picture?" (I love that he thinks it would have to have been Daddy to lose them and not Mommy)

"No, sweetie. That was before you & Kynsley were born."

"Well...why were you on a trip? (He recognized we were in a hotel!) Why did me & Kynsley not go?"

"We were on a school trip and you and Kynsley weren't born yet. That was even before Mommy & Daddy were married."

"But why were you not married? See...you're holding hands! And you're holding hands in this picture too!" (the bus picture)

You could just see his little wheels turning in that head. Is it really possible that every single thing you say can have a "why?" Yes. Yes it is. If you don't believe me then just try to tell my son anything at all. On the way to Atlanta we had this conversation thanks to Miss Kynsley:

Kynsley: "Well...where's Anna Ba-yuff?" (because clearly we should not be going anywhere this far without her, right?)

Me: "She's at home"

Bryson: "Why is she at home"

I ignore that one--hey--take a car ride with these two before you judge...

Kynsley: "Well where's Angela?" (if Anna Beth can't come then Angela will do)

Me: "She's at home with Anna Beth"

Bryson: "Why is she at home with Anna Beth"

Me: "Because that's where they live."

Bryson: "Why is that where they live?"

Me: "Because they just do. That's where their house is."

Bryson: "Well, why do they just do?" (seriously.)

Me: "Does anybody want to watch Mary Poppins?!"

Good ole' Mary Poppins. Practically Perfect in Every Way. Circling "why" conversation over with just a little spoon full of sugar.

Jackson

2009-06-03T12:28:00.009-05:00

So I feel a bit guilty. My very first post ever was just one big complaint with the last one being that I had to go shoot a 3 month old and 3 month sessions were the worst...gripe, moan, etc. Well, I never followed up to say that he was the best 3 month old EVER. He smiled and laughed and was just a dream. Really made me eat my words. So now the little charmer is 6 months old--actually 7 1/2 months because it took us a month and 4 rain dates to actually get a pretty day to shoot these! He's jsut as cute as ever and he has the most amazing eyes! I get the yummiest catchlights with those big eyes. On to some favorites & collages:

I had a vision of a naked baby in the bright green grass with bubbles all around...

...of course that didn't really work out as planned. We still got some cute shots though.

His daddy wasn't too happy about this outfit but I thought he looked sweet!

I didn't realize until this very minute that I didn't put the correct initials on this one. Oh well, easy fix!

www.alicialooneyphotography.com/Jackson-6month/index.html

Laura Beth & Joe

2009-06-03T10:54:00.007-05:00

I recently shot engagment pictures for my cousin Laura Beth and her fiance Joe. It was a perfect day. We started out downtown then went out to her dad's place in West Limestone. The afternoon light was just perfect and we ended up shooting around 650 frames I think (I tend to get a little carried away) Here are some of my favorites:

The entire shoot's at www.alicialooneyphotography.com/LB-Joe/index.html

Thanks for looking!

It was bound to happen eventually...

2009-06-02T09:52:00.002-05:00

I forgot about a photo shoot. I was only 10 minutes late--they called at 2:00 when it was supposed to start and I tore out of the house but still- I had forgotten all about it. That's never happened to me before. I remembered it last weekend and made a mental note "next weekend I have shoots on Saturday & Sunday" but mental notes are just not what they used to be in my brain. Let's just back up to the events leading up to this incident...

Like the rest of you, this was one of the busiest weekends ever. Come to think of it, it seems like all of them are that way lately...anyway...it started out great. Friday night we had a date night!! Yay!!! I love date nights. We usually plan them for 6 months or so before we actually get to have one. Someone always gets sick or Jay has to work the college, etc. Nana & Pawpaw (Jay's parents) have been wanting the kids to spend the night for a while now so we took them up on it Friday. Jay was on call so we couldn't leave the county but luckily he didn't get called out so we had the whole night to ourselves. We LOVE going to the movies. The popcorn alone is worth the whole trip no matter what the movie is. I usually don't eat all day just so I can make a pig of myself on popcorn. (fyi: If you get a large you get free refills) We went out for dessert afterwards and then made a midnight Walmart run. You really take that for granted before you have kids. Midnight runs are luxury you have to give up.

Well, like Cinderella, the fun ended on Friday. I had to be up by 7:00 for a photo shoot :(. Then it was off to pickup the kiddos where I learned they had stayed up until 12:30 the night before. I really didn't mind but I also knew we had a jam-packed day. I dropped Bryson with Jay so they could mow the yard and me & Kynsley headed off to Deacatur for Addie Mae's party. We had to rush there to get back to Athens for Riley Jo's party (Jay's 3 year old cousin) but we never made it to that one...I'm sure I will hear the aftermath of this whenever I get up the courage to call her mom but I'm putting that off for now. Kynsley fell asleep on the way home and Bryson was napping when I got home and I just couldn't see waking them up especially when Bryson can't stand the birthday girl. I know that's awful but he'd already told me "No momma...I think Riley Jo lives far, far away. I don't think we can go to her party." So after they napped we headed to Beth & Jeremiah's where we stayed until midnight. (Eventually people will get the idea that you just have to tell us to leave. We love to close the place down wherever we go with no thought or care of who it effects.)

Sunday I thought it would be rather calm. Go to church. Kids & Jay nap while I try to catch up all of the laundry & work on pictures in between...nope. We went to see Mama Pearlie (Jay's great-gmother) at the nursing home after church, then took lunch back to my parent's house, then went home. As soon as we walked in the door the phone was ringing & Jay answered. "Okay, what time was she supposed to be there?" Crap. The minute I heard him say that of course it all came back to me and I took off running. Luckily I still had my camera in the car from the shoot on Saturday, plenty of memory card space & battery power so I kicked off my heels and put on some flip flops and ran out the door. No time to change the white linen dress so that will take some good ole' Zout (see Amber's product recommendation). Dresses are never a good idea for a photo shoot. I learned that lesson many years ago when I first started doing weddings but there was no choice on Sunday. Luckily it was a group of cheerleaders so I wasn't as embarrased about flashing them as I would have been the football team. They were super sweet about it but I felt HORRIBLE! Not to mention it was 92 degrees that afternoon. So when I got home I had to take a shower--I only tell you that to explain why I came to church with wet hair that eventually dried into a nice chia-pet afro look.

Does anyone remember that commercial where Annie Potts forgot where she parked her car? I think that was advertising some kind of memory vitamin or something. Ironically, I can't remember! Imagine that. If anyone does remember...please share. I think I could use it.

Free to good home

2009-05-26T14:03:00.004-05:00

one 3 year old male-blue eyes, curly hair, contagious laugh

and one nearly 2 year old female-blue eyes, crazy hair,

loves to entertain.

I'm kidding, of course. But after this weekend this thought may have entered my mind. We attempted a fun-filled trip to Atlanta which turned out to be a stress-filled trip that left us questioning our decision to take the kids to Disney World this fall. Parts of it were fun but by the end of the weekend I feared that Jay might actually throw up his hands and say "I'm done" leaving me with these little terrors, I mean angels. I know, you're thinking wasn't it just your last post that was talking about how awesome your kids were? Well, that was before we attempted a short road-trip with them. They were pretty good I guess for a 2 & 3 year old it's just that they've gotten to the age where they interact alot. Their conversations are hilarious but Miss Kynsley has also learned exactly what to do to push Bryson's buttons, therefore the craziness and fighting are sure to follow. I've tried to tell Bryson to ignore her but that does no good. When strapped in a carseat they can't really get to each other to wrestle it out (not that I condone that or anything) so they just yell back and forth. EXHAUSTING. Oh, and apparently my kids hate hotels. When it came time to go to sleep neither could understand why we couldn't go home and Bryson just kept crying saying "But Mommy we don't live here!!" We did take some pictures so I'll try to post those later and make the trip look all glorious and good-times.

Dear Major Petty,

2009-05-22T15:30:00.003-05:00

I too, cannot believe that we have never actually met face to face. It has been almost 3 years since you first took out your loan with us and in that time we have grown to be friends. You are a pleasure to deal with and I always enjoy your 5 minute "Praise Jesus" voicemails and 30 minute "Preach it sista!" phone conversations. The work you and your wife do for our country is extrememly honorable and in our short time of conversing with each other I have seen you from Iraq to Virginia and now Washingto D.C.

Thank you so much for the care package that you sent. Kynsley enjoys her blue sleeper with the dog on it and Bryson loves his camouflage bible with his special message from "Uncle Petty". My husband and I are studying the Iraqi to English translating guide as I am sure it will come in very handy one day if we ever decide to plan a trip to that war-torn country. As always, you are so thoughtful and I love getting the Happy Kwanza and Thinking of you Sister cards in the mail. I promise that I will put those hard copies of the photographs of my children in the mail as soon as I can and although I cannot ensure that you can be featured on the cover of our magazine as you requested, I will do my best to have you featured in an article very soon.

I received the flyers that you sent regarding your property for sale and the house in Montgomery that is for sale. I would like to remind you that although I made you separate payment stubs for your special principal payments, had the guys drive by the property you are interested in to give you an update and have made the "Welcome to Alabama" phone calls to all of your BRAC friends that you requested, I am not your personal secretary. If someone inquires about land for sale I will let them know about your property but I hope you will not hold me responsible for selling it for you.

So on this Memorial Day weekend, I would like to Thank You for your service and No, for the 73rd time, we still do not have any foreclosures that I forgot to tell you about.

With love,
Alicia

Stinkin' Awesome

2009-05-22T12:37:00.002-05:00

If you are around Matt Burns for any length of time I guarantee you will hear him say these words. The more I've been around him and heard it the more I have to agree that some things are just Stinkin' Awesome! There are just no better words I can think of to describe them. So here's a list of Stinkin' Awesome things that are on my mind today...

1. Angela Burns.
Yep, that would be Matt's lovely wife. She is STINKIN' AWESOME and I have a feeling that she may be the muse behind this catch phrase. She is the sweetest person you could ever meet and although I've technically only known her for 3 or so years I have no idea what I did before she was in my life! I love this girl. I am so in debt to her for favors I think I may have to pay for any future wedding between our two. She's always there with an ear or a shoulder and she has the sweetest way of reminding me of things that I need to do that I've been trying to remember to do for weeks without making me feel like a complete moron (don't worry, I still know that I am, I just appreciate her restraint). So here's to you Angela....you are STINKIN' AWESOME.

2. Carmel Bugles. Try one and you will agree-STINKIN' AWESOME

3. Careless Whisper by Seether--just heard this remake yesterday! Who would have ever thought? Not me but I guess that's why I'm not a music producer. Well, have a listen, it's STINKIN' AWESOME

4. While I'm on music, Grace Kelly by Mika. This song is so STINKIN' AWESOME. Everyone should make a point to start their day off with it and I guarantee you will smile all day while it plays in your head. I lovelovelovelove it. My children and I like to dance to it. It's a win for everyone. We have a blast and Jay gets a good laugh at us dancing like crazy people.

5. Long Weekends. No explination needed. STINKIN' AWESOME.

6. Justin Chittam. He works here with me and went to the store yesterday just because we were out of diet drinks in the kitchen. (I'm the only one who drinks diet but I drink about twice as much as the guys). He brought back a case of Diet Sundrop-my favorite and he even brought me a cold one too because he thought I might want it right away. I know it sounds like I'm his awful boss who barks orders, makes him bring me my favorite things and yells "No wire hangers!!" but actually he's boss over me. He's just STINKIN' AWESOME.

7. High Heels. I know this sounds trivial but you wouldn't believe the negative comments and vibes I get because I wear high heels. Before I had kids it was "You're gonna have back trouble one day!" (nice try--I inherited that anyway) then when I was pregnant it was "You're not really gonna wear those when you get big are you?" (I did) and then when the kids arrived it was "Are you really going to wear those 4 inch heels and carry the babies around?" (I do) So say what you will. I haven't fallen with the kids yet and I take the occasional day off for flats but nothing can make me feel instantly skinnier than a pair of heels. They're theraputic. I'm serious. Just back off-they're STINKIN' AWESOME.

8. My Husband. He is amazing. I don't know anyone who I can laugh with like I do with him. We have the best time together and he always makes me feel so special and important. Even though I want to throw the remote at his head sometimes because he finds it impossible to fold laundry and watch a ballgame at the same time. Or even though sometimes it feels like I have 3 children because I feel like I need to punish him along with Bryson & Kynsley since he's the one that showed them how to bounce so high on the bed. He's still my steady and I love him to pieces. Just a little more work and he'll be STINKIN' AWESOME.

9 & 10. My sweet babies. I know we all think our kids are special but I've almost accepted the fact that mine just are. I used to as Jay "Are they really this cute or do we just think so because their ours?". Well, I don't ask anymore because they are. My not-yet 2 year old notices if I have on a new shirt, scarf or necklace and says "Oooh, pretty mama. You look bootiful." or when I've had to whip her for something she's done (which is daily lately) she says "I sorry mommy. I not do it again." She will do anything for a laugh and if she prays for no one else then she always prays for all of the dogs. Precious, precious precious. My 3 year old is so tenderhearted it almost makes me cry. If I ever have to sneek in Kynsley's room after she's asleep he always wants to go in with me so he can peek at her and he'll say "Look mama, she sure is cute" and every morning he wants to be the first one in her room and greets her with "Good Morning Sunshine! Are you ready to get up?" I could go on and on. They are just STINKIN' AWESOME.

So Thank you Matt. I have now officially adopted your catch phrase and plan to put it to good use.

My Male Nurse Encounter

2009-05-21T12:34:00.003-05:00

I've had a little heart issue ever since I was a baby and lately I've been having some trouble so I had to go in to see my cardiologist. His office is in the Heart Center & I've been over there several times but if you've ever been or even passed by you know that place is huge. There are several doctors so there are tons of staff. Well in all my visits I've never encountered a male nurse. As soon as you go back to a room they check your blood pressure and do an EKG. Well last week when I went in the nurse (female) was updating my information and going through the 15 minute questionnaire when a guy knocked on the door and wheeled in the EKG machine and said "I'll go ahead and do this for you while you're getting her information". She told him that was okay she'd get it but he insisted. I was thinking No...really! I'm in no rush-she can do it! But of course I didn't say that because he was obviously trying to be helpful. If you've never had an EKG it means you have to sit there bare-breasted while they hook up the little thingys to your body and get a reading. So then he said it "Lift up your shirt to your chin please". Cringe. He did at least let me keep my bra on though which I was ever so thankful for. All the while the girl was still asking me all these stupid questions like "Do you have black tarry stool?", etc. and my job is to answer and keep holding my shirt up to my chin. Well I was avoiding all eye contact with male nurse for obvious reasons but I did glance over at him to realize he was having to squat down to try and stick the things up my shirt. Apparently in my attempt to pretend he wasn't there I was holding it straight out rather than up. So I apologized and pulled it on up. He was really polite about it and I know that's his job but that didn't mean I was prepared for it. I have absolutely nothing against male nurses I just think in somewhere like a cardiolgist or say obgyn's office that they should post a warning or something. You know, MALE NURSE ON DUTY so at least you can mentally prepare.

After I had some more tests I was sent to another room to wait on the doctor to come back in and I heard the male nurse in the room next to me. He was helping what had to be a really old woman. She sounded about 118 years old and she had another lady who sounded to be a caretaker in there with her. Everyone was screaming at her because she couldn't hear them and the male nurse shouted "If you could just hold up your left breast please" then after 5 minutes or so he shouted again "You can go ahead and sit it back down now". I was feeling embarrased for me before but now I was mortifyed for everyone in that room! I could obviously use a little extra help in the bust department but I'm so grateful I don't have to be instructed to pick up my breast and set it back down--especially by a male nurse.

I wasn't even going to post anything about this because it just seemed odd writing about my boobs but I had to go back in today for some more tests and he came out to the waiting area to call someone in (not me thankfully) and gave me a little smile. I know he was just being friendly but all I could think about was that poor guy he had to look at my boobs...and that old lady's.

Am I potty training or labor coaching?

2009-05-14T15:53:00.000-05:00

Bryson has mastered the potty (with the exception of night time). Just typing that will probably jinx the whole thing but I feel confident in saying he's pretty well mastered it. We haven't had an accident in several weeks now. There is one major problem though. Well, it may not be a problem but it's definitley annoying and exhausting. When it's time to do the dirty job, #2, poo-poo, whatever you want to call it, it's complete chaos. Rather than just saying "I need to use the potty" like he normally does he starts screaming and running all over house like a mental patient. Obviously, that's the cue so I herd him towards the potty and plop him on it. He refuses to use the potty chair because he can't stand to get it dirty so he sits on the big potty and cries, screams, kicks and has a complete come-apart. I am in no way exaggerating people. It's ridiculous. So after being kicked and usually poked in the eye then I have to say "Come on Bryson, you can do it! Squeeze my hands, PUSH!!!" By the end of our 10-15 minute ordeal I feel like I've just delivered a baby just to flush it away. Sometimes I really just want to scream at him JUST DO IT ALREADY!!!!! Seriously, what takes the male species so long?? I will never in a million years understand that one but apparently it starts right from the beginning. Oh, and the real kicker? As soon as he's finally done his business, he laughs & says "lookie there momma! clean me up!" His mood has completely changed while I'm left sitting by the toilet exhausted and in a horrible mood. It would help if Jay could do potty duty for these jobs but when he tries to take him Bryson just tells him he wants to do it the way mommy does it.

Maybe my next career will be a midwife.

Bad Hair Part 2

2009-05-08T16:09:00.000-05:00

You know how you might think something looks really awful (haircut for example) but then you tell yourself it's probably not really that bad? Well, it's as bad as I had feared. Jay told me I looked like I belonged at an '80's convention. I have no idea what an '80's convention is and I doubt that he does either but I get his point loud and clear. It's as bad as I thought. Something has to be done. Expect some sort of updo on Sunday ladies.

Good thing we don't do pagents

2009-05-06T14:26:00.001-05:00

Kynsley is the sweetest little girl in the world. She wakes up smiling and keeps it up most of the day. She compliments people, says "peese", "tank you" and "yur wecome". Overall you couldn't ask for a better child but when it comes to taking pictures she's a major pain in the rear. It's a nightmare! I do believe she is the least photogenic person I've ever come across. It's so completely frustrating!! Now maybe I'm just a little spoiled because Bryson is a dream in front of the camera. He smiles and holds the pose until you've got the shot. He takes direction well-lower your chin, put your arm around your sister, etc. he's a natural.

Kynsley, on the other hand...

She's impossible. She won't cooperate at all.

I did manage to get a couple of ok ones out of our canola field shoot though.

Well, she'll never win Miss Photogenic but at least we get some good laughs out of it:)

Is there some kind of rehab for indecisiveness?

2009-05-06T09:32:00.000-05:00

If there is, then I totally need it. I don't really know how it started or if this is just something that I am by nature but I have a serious problem with indecisiveness. It's not really that I can't choose things-sometimes that's the case but it's usually just that I don't want to be the one making the decisions. I'm always afraid someone else will have an opinion and not like what I choose. I generally don't care because overall I'm a laid back, go with the flow & pretty easy to please kind of girl so why not let everyone else pick? Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. I drive people crazy. I mean I really annoy people with this and I don't mean to! I see it as trying to be polite but it just gets on everyone's nerves. It was so nice when Bryson reached the age he could make decisions for me. So by the time he was 18 months or so he would pick out where to eat and help me pick out what clothes to wear. The only downside is that for a while all we ate was Ole McDonalds and then Cracker Barrell & now his favorite is biscuits from the Colonel (KFC). Luckily Jay is not afraid to make a decision so we're not stuck eating at those places all the time. Kynsley is a natural decision maker, thankfully. Since she was probably a year old she insists on picking out what she wears & seems to always know just what she wants.

Anyway...I'm veering off topic. Back to my problem. So what has really convinced me that I need help with this indecisiveness is my recent haircut. My hair could be an entire blog topic of its own (in fact it has been) because of its craziness. I searched for years and finally found someone who could cut my hair! She's been cutting it now for a couple of years and she's awesome, really. She knows how to work with the curl and just really seems to get it. So I went in last week, tired of my regular style because it seems like every 2nd person you pass on the street has it but I didn't know what to tell her to do. So I uttered those awful words "Just do whatever you want & that you think will look good." She explained it as she went..."putting in lots of layers"..."long enough to wear curly or straight"..."easy to style"...."this cut is GREAT on you!" Sounded awesome! She styled it straight for me and it looked good. It happened to be raining that day (imagine that!) so as soon as I walked to the car it was curling up and by the time I got home it was just a big frizz. Too soon to tell I thought. I tried straightening it myself for church and just couldn't get it so I ended up with a ponytail. Then the ultimate test because I rarely have time to straighten my hair anymore--I wore it curly. Wow. That's all I know to say. Just give me some leg warmers and a sweatband and I could absolutely be in the remake of Flashdance. Seriously--it's that bad. I in no way blame her. When she fixed it it worked. It's all the result of me not being able to make a decision. I would rather let the hairstlyist choose my haircut then me have to do it! What's wrong with me???! So now I guess I'll have to call her back for another cut or else start brushing up on my dance moves...

Dirty Dancing, High-Speed Chases and What's this World Coming To?

2009-04-29T15:46:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd share my usual Holly conversation with everyone today. The Shred-It guy just left and I didn't bother him at all(yay me). This is probably just because I accidentaly almost gave him a hug and I feeling a little bit like a moron so I wasn't quite as chatty as usual. If he knew me he'd think nothing of it because I'm just flighty and clumsy like that but he really doesn't know me that well so I'm sure he just thought I was an idiot. Anyway, I just had these things to share and I'm sure you've all been checking your computers hourly hoping I'd post something.

Topic 1: Dirty Dancing

I've developed the habit of looking ahead on the movie channels to see what's coming up so I can TiVo some stuff to get a little bit of a vault for when I'm up working into the wees. If I don't have something making some noise then I'll never stay awake. Obviously movies that I've already seen are ideal because I don't really have to watch them-just listen. So I dug into the vault this past weekend and watched Dirty Dancing. Awesome movie...period. It's just a classic really. My best friend Angel's mother let us watch it when I was in 1st grade (what was she thinking?) and I was sick with guilt because I knew I wasn't supposed to watch stuff like that. I ended up breaking down and telling my parents about this horrible thing I'd done so please don't tell my parents that I love this movie, okay? Anyway, after I saw it Angel and I were absolutely in LOVE with Patrick Swayze. Who wasn't? We practiced the lift over and over trying to get it just right so if he ever dropped in we could impress in hopes to be the next "Baby". After watching this movie over the weekend I couldn't help but think of how extrememly far-fetched it is. I mean, obviously it's a movie, I know but seriously? Who was in charge of casting her? Never in a million years could she have gotten the likes of Johnny's goodies. Looks aside, she's such a whiner! She really grates on your nerves and I don't think Johnny would have put up with it. She did have a rockin body though so maybe that was it. I will say that she did give us ugly, big-haired, flat-chested girls hope though. (I feel the need to mention here that I have in no way patterned my hair after hers despite my love for the movie. I just happen to be genetically cursed in the hair department just as dear Baby was and it's a mere fluke and much to my disappointment that we have the same style.)

Topic 2: High-speed chases!

Jay was the lead car on a high-speed chase today! He even buckled up for it so I was extra proud of that. You'd think he'd know the dangers of not wearing a seat belt but he's stubborn that way. He said it was very Dukes of Hazzard and they were going 120-130 mph down the interstate. He was really excited. Apparently all law enforcement people just live for the car chase so maybe he got his fix for a while.

Topic 3: What is the World Coming To?

This topic really upsets me and actually makes me sick to my stomach. Jay was called out at 1:30 this morning which is not out of the ordinary but the crime is what's so disturbing. He had to go to the hospital to interview a 5 year old girl who had been raped by her 9 year old cousin. Yeah, you read that right, 9 years old!! I was totally speechless. How does this kid even know about things like this? It scares me to death to think about all the madness out there and how in the world can I protect my babies from it?

Burns Family!

2009-04-24T11:05:00.000-05:00

Some of my favorite people on this planet asked me to take some family pics for them this week for a mother's day gift. The Brothers Burns and their families have become like an extention of our own (or the other way around:) whether they wanted to or not. I'm so glad they decided to join O'Neal and I can't even remember what in the world we did without them! Kynlsey thinks everyone's last name is Burns and I'd have to agree that this world would be a lot better place if there were a few more! So here are some of my favorite shots of the day:

Al & Brooke

These two lovebirds made it feel like an engagement session

Say it with me now...awwww

They just happened to wear purple and this place has an awesome purple door

I love this shot! Except Al looks like he's shooting a bird. Don't worry Brooke-if you want this one I can fix that right up for you:)

Matt & Angela

You'd never guess these two kids have been together since like, 8th grade! They still have so much fun together and are so good to each other...sweet.

Their sweet girl (who just happens to be Kynsley's bff & my future daughter-in-law) Anna Beth

Destiny (or Dessie as Anna Beth calls her)

Jeremy, Tiffany & Destiny

The whole Burns gang

You'd never guess that Al was actually standing behind me getting the girls attention would you? We just left a spot open for him by Brooke and then I plugged him right in. What did we do before photoshop?

Surprisingly, this one required no photoshopping! Uncle Bobo (a/k/a Al to some of us) is quite a handy fellow to have around when picture taking. He had the bright idea to throw a pinecone over my head so the girls would be watching it and I could snap away. He was lightning fast to jump quickly into posing after he threw. Even after all his hard work I think there are only 2 pics with everyone's eyes open and both girls looking. Head swapping may be required after all.

Gorgeous day, beautiful light & great subjects. I'd say it was a success!

Mindless Blogging

2009-04-22T14:53:00.000-05:00

I would like to express to all 3 of my readers that you may feel free to ignore any or all posts from me. Seriously, you're all going to be wishing you never introduced me to this blogging world. I'm sure you've heard me mention a few hundred times that my good friend & colleague Holly recently got married. Yeah, congratulations and all but unfortunately this also meant that she's on a leave of absence until July!! Adam (new hubby) is finishing up dental school so she had to move to Birmingham until he graduates. I tried to talk her into waiting another 3 months to get married (for merely selfish reasons) because really--if you've waited 8 years what's 3 more months? She showed me no pity and chose him over me. So now I'm stuck here at work alone. Not technically alone but the two guys in the office just don't like to talk as much as I do. They won't come in my office and sit for long periods of time just to share random tidbits. Therefore, my random tidbits are dying to get out. After holding up the Cooks Pest Control man for 30 minutes just talking his ears off about nothing I decided maybe I should just blog all the things I would usually discuss with Holly rather than disturb the pest control and UPS men any further. So the items on my mind today are:

1. I am in serious Sweet Tart withdrawal. I finished off all of my duck, chicks & bunnies and am kicking myself for not buying more when I had the chance. There's a tiny window every year when it's sweet tart heaven. Sweet Tart Hearts are out for Valentine's Day and then the Ducks, Chicks & Bunnies follow for Easter. Regular Sweet Tarts NOT the same so don't even start with that. If anyone can find any out there somewhere I'll pay you double what they cost.

2. I heard Tiny Dancer on the radio and now I really have the urge to watch Almost Famous. I had forgotten about that movie but that just rang my bell. That song comes on like 4 times a day and has never made me think of that movie until this minute. Strange.

3. Mr. Southgate just came in so now I'm going to have to Lysol the whole office.

4. Children's Place e-mailed me about their clearance sale and I just happened to have a 15% off cupon in my purse. Bryson is now fairly well stocked for next year and I saved $160.19 or 54%woo-hoo! I think I ended up with 27 pieces of clothing-I was quite proud of myself. I always tend to like their boys stuff better than the girls although I did get Kynsley a few layering shirts and yoga pants for like $2 each. So, not to leave her out--I had to mosey over to Gymboree because I heart that store. Plus I have a 30% cupon for them & Gymboree bucks too! I'm getting thrifier all the time:)

5. It's Administrative Assistant's Day and rather than the usual $25 to Pimentos I got 4 free hours off! I could really use that much more than the gift certificate. Maybe I can use it to finish up Savannah's album. Or maybe not. I can at least day dream of all the wonderful ways I might could use it.

6. Last tidbit for today--The boss is off tomorrow afternoon & all day Friday!!! The laptop's coming to work folks. Maybe, just maybe if I put in 4 or 5 hours tonight and tomorrow night then I can get her album finished up Friday!! Then I could use my 4 hours to start on Katrina's :) It never ends.

I know I said that was the last but I felt the need to clarify that I do actually work too. In case you haven't heard the mortgage industry is a bit slow right now so there's only been like a 1/2 day's work to do here lately. But rest assured-if there's work I should be doing then I won't be blogging.

So now I will go and leave you all praying fervently for business to pick up or for July to hurry up and get here so Holly can be the ears for my caged thoughts.

21 months going on 14

2009-04-21T15:08:00.000-05:00

I'm already dreading the teenage years. I'm afraid our sweet little Kynsley has inherited her Daddy's flirty nature and seems to be developing quite a little attitude to go with it. (No idea where she's gettting that from). She's had a major crush on Cody Grissom for some time now. She's played it smart and has been using Cayla to get closer to him-we girls learn young, huh? The first thing she looks for every church service is Cody and now that he's moved to Chatanooga, when she doesn't see him she'll throw up her hands and ask "Where's Cody?!" So I'll tell her "He's in Chattanooga". Well, Granny brought her a stuffed horse last week when Bryson had his tubes put in and she had a bit of a cold (any excuse will do when Granny wants to bring presents). So Granny asked Kynlsey what she was going to name her new horse and we were all expecting "Neigh, Neigh" or "Poppy Vance" because she's generally very predictable with naming things. Apparently she decided to honor Cody because she took a long thoughtful look at the horse and then at Granny and said "Chattanooga". Chattanooga has now become a permanent fixture under her arm and she won't go to sleep without it.

So now to the attitude part of this tale. Since Cody is not there to fulfill Kynsley's needs, she's starting to look elsewhere. My good friend Holly got married a few weeks ago and leading up to it we were getting together working on wedding stuff constantly. In this process, Kynsley met John Michael, Holly's older brother. Well, it was love at first sight. She followed him everywhere the night they met and when he had to leave for a short bit she looked all over the house calling "John Michael! Whe ah you?" He returned and all was well in her world. When it was time to leave I found her sitting with him on the couch working on his laptop and engaged in what I'm sure was a very in depth conversation. John Michael made quite the impression on Kynsley because she "calls" him daily from our cellphones. She pretends to have a whole conversation complete with pauses for his response. Example:

Kynsley: "Hey John Michael"

Pause

Kysnley: "Nuthin"

Pause

Kynsley: "Okay, see ya later"

Sunday night she had my phone pretending to have this conversation and I told her it was time to get her pajamas on & get ready for bed. She turned to me and held up her hand in the talk-to-the-hand fashion and said "I have to talk to John Michael for just a minute!" Wow. I really did not think it would start this young ! I hope we can get the attitude in check before the real stuff starts or it's gonna be a long road!

The Easter Bunny Came!

2009-04-17T15:58:00.000-05:00

The Easter Bunny visited our house this year! He called the night before and left a message persuading the kids to be good & he'd leave them a surprise. If Jay tries to tell you that it was actually his insane wife who acts like an 8 year old- don't believe him.

It looks like Kynsley got
It looks like Kynsley gotmore but Bryson's stuff was just smaller.

He brought Oreos rather than candy because they're Bryson's favorite. Kynsley is just like her mama-every food is her favorite. Nothing like an Oreo smile. Lovely, huh?

Quarterly Update

2009-04-17T14:48:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! When I started this I thought that I'd get on here every day at work and check in, add pictures, etc. Yeah, obviously that didn't happen. Every spare minute with the boss gone was spent in wedding mode up until Holly's big day. Since then I've had the place to myself with both her responsibilities and mine so free time hasn't been that ample. Unfortunately, free time outside of work is non-existent so I just haven't had much time for updates. But today it's slow and I actually remembered to bring some new jpeg files to work so I can put some pics up. Most everything I have is raw and that doesn't jive until I convert them (which I haven't had time to do either) but I did happen to take my little camera to the Easter Egg Hunt and some of our Easter activities because it's just so much easier to haul around when I'm also chasing 2 kiddies. So now if I can just figure out how to get them on here...

Well, they're on here. Albeit randomly positioned but I haven't figured out that part yet:)

Best Week EVER

2009-01-15T15:20:00.000-06:00

So, this is my first blog here and I really hate to start this out with such a negative post but I just really see no way around it. So far 2009 is crappy. I know, I know--usually I'm the glass half full girl but I'm having a hard time with that lately! Here's the run-down so far this week:

For starters, Jay's been in Kentucky for 2 weeks-which is bad enough-but then he calls several times a day in between watching football games with the guys, eating at all these nice restaurants, going bowling and tries to tell me how much he misses us. Give me a break. I mean I know he misses us or the kids at least, 2 weeks is a long time. But here on the homefront things aren't that peachy and I'm sure he's secretley glad these are the 2 weeks he got to be away.

Monday

Both the kids have RSV. Let me just back up...last Wednesday we found out that sweet little Anna Beth (good friend and playmate of my 2 kids) had RSV. On Thursday afternoon, Kynsley started running a 101.7 fever and had a runny nose and awful sounding cough. Bryson's had RSV a couple of times so I knew these were the symptoms and thought I better get her checked out before the weekend. So I took her in on Friday and told them she had been exposed to RSV. The doctor looked in her ears and at her throat and said "just a cold". Over the weekend, she got worse and Bryson picked up the "cold" too. On Sunday he was coughing so bad he was gagging and throwing up so on Monday I took him to the doctor. I decided to drag Kynlsey along too (since it was just a cold) and let her cough and sneeze all over the office just for kicks. Well...guess what! Bryson has RSV & double ear infections. I asked her if we should test Kynlsey and she said "Oh, no--she obviously has the same thing". Seriously? I really wanted to just slap her and demand my co-pay back but clearly I would never have the nerve to actually do that. Oh, and apparently they don't give medication for RSV anymore, who knew?

Tuesday

My mom kept the kids and since Jay was away I just stayed at there after work so we could all get a nice free meal:) It was also American Idol night so I stayed to watch it with some adult company because if I had went home the only thing we can watch is Alvin and the Chipmunks. Well, I got home at 9 or so to discover that the heat wasn't working! Perfect. So I called around and was advised to turn on the emergency heat until the morning. Guess what--that wouldn't work either. Luckily my parents only live a stone's throw away so I packed up the kids and we went to sleep at Granny & Poppy's.

Wednesday

Wednesday started out okay actually. After phone calls back and forth someone came out and fixed the central unit. We didn't have to get a new one so that was good. A girl called and booked a wedding...awesome (thanks for the referral Beth!) Then Lori Gooch called up to tell me that she was sending us a check for $250 that was an insurance refund from where we sold our house a year and a half ago! Perfect!! Hopefully that will pay for the central unit repairs! I thought my luck was finally swinging up. Then I went home. The girl who started keeping the kids on Mondays and Wednesdays to give my mother a much needed break told me that she had taken another job because they could give her more hours. Don't get me wrong--I can't argue with that & good for her, la de da. It just would have been nice to know (when she called and asked for a job or when she started 2 weeks ago) that she needed more hours (never mentioned) or that she was looking for something else. It's really not a big deal, I know. She's a sweet girl and nothing against her but it was just something else to be piled onto my lovely week.

So now it's Thursday and so far nothing monumentally has gone wrong. I have 3 month pictures after work which is by far my least favorite age to photograph though so I'm expecting that to go just horribly. Wish me luck!