Free Studio Gifts

I ordered a wedding portrait from Canvas People recently. When it came in - it was in black and white even though the picture I sent was in color. I'm still hashing out how to get it printed properly. But, in the package they sent me there was an envelope with a ton of coupons.

"Free Gift - No Purchase Necessary"

So, what's the catch? The studios swear there isn't one, but ohhh is there... The packages are not discussed before the shoot, so none of the studios knew I was coming in for just the free (collage, portrait, etc) gift. They did know that I was bringing in a FIVE MONTH OLD BABY.

The first studio I went to was Picture Me. AKA Walmart. Yea... I know. And yes, it was that bad. My appointment was at 12:30pm. I arrived 10 minutes early just like they asked. But, the girl was on the phone. And continued to be on the phone for 15 minutes chit chatting with another store, continually putting her index finger up motioning for me to 'hold on.'

I'm sorry, but when you have a customer in front of you and you are just yapping your gums with a coworker, you tell the coworker you'll call them back. Ugh. She finally got off the phone and then proceeded to tell me the conversation - I DON'T CARE! The session itself was horrible. She was scary. Painted on eye brows. Loud, obnoxious toys that just scared the baby. There were 2 good pictures out of the hour long session.

I finally left Walmart at 2pm. My next appointment was at 3:30pm. Which basically meant I had to rush home and try to get Kaylee to nap for a few moments. Unfortunately, I had to wake her up at 3:15. Nothing like taking a tired baby to get her pictures taken.

The next stop was Sears. There was only 1 girl working and people everywhere. But, she was running around with a huge smile on her face. She loved her job. It just poured out of her. THAT is what I needed in a photographer. But, I already knew the session was going to suck, no matter how good she was.

And it did. Kaylee refused to smile. We were there for over an hour. She let us reschedule, so I go back tomorrow morning.

Today, I thoroughly tortured the child. THREE photoshoots. I probably should have spaced these out a bit more, but I am so busy that I really needed to get this done before I leave for Houston Thursday morning.

I hit the ground running as soon as I got out of bed. We caught another cat (this makes 10). Brian wanted me to try the Humane Society again, but yet again they turned me away saying I needed an appointment. AND I have to sign up for the TNR program. AND I have to PAY for the N part of the TNR. I did not start this problem. I do not have the funds to pay for all of these cats. After I released the cat, I had to hit the bank, then get to Babies R Us. I figured I would arrive a little early so I could get Kaylee out of the truck and calm before the shoot, but they didn't open until my appointment time!

It was so cold out this morning, so I couldn't even walk around. But as I was parking, she smooshed her face, grunted and then giggled. GREAT. Bed Bath and Beyond happened to be open, so I ran in there to change her. But, guess what I left sitting in the living room? WIPES. Was this really how my day was going to go?? I felt so bad that I had to clean her up with rough paper towels :(

9:30 took forever to arrive (ya know - about as long as this blog post is taking... sorry about that). The girl was really sweet. I was hoping for a good session. But, apparently Kaylee had other plans. I think the popping of the flash was scaring her. We got a few good shots, but not many. And as soon as I told the girl I was not in love with any of the shots and that it would be hard to pay for an expensive package, her mood instantly changed and she started being rude. Ugh. It wasn't HER fault! She tried really hard and I told her that... I honestly can't even remember which image I got. But, the girl had a few good ideas, so I'm going to see if I can do them at home since Kaylee smiles for me. I left there at 10:45a.







Our final appointment of the day was at Picture People in Lakeline Mall. The appointment was at 12:30, so I decided it wasn't worth going home to have Kaylee nap, but I knew she was tired, so I just drove around. She slept until 12 which gave me enough time to feed/change her. The guy at the counter was really nice, but unfortunately, someone else was taking the pictures. An unemotional, 'I hate my job' type person. Ugh.

Well, this worked in and against my favor. Of course the shoot was awful and only 30 minutes. I was thinking "I'll be home by 2!" HAHAHAHA I shouldn't have thought so quickly. I came back around 1:15 to review the pictures and here come 'Gary' telling me the boss was mortified by the pictures and begged me to let him redo the shoot. Kaylee instantly smiled for him, so I figured 'ehh... what could it hurt?'

Gary was great. Kaylee was still a pill. But, she smiled for him. PP didn't have a free gift, but they had 6 sheets for $18. Normally, each sheet is $18, so this was a deal in my book and would cover EVERYONE on my Christmas list. Thank goodness for that one perfect shot!

But, after I placed my order, I was ignored. By 2:45, I was starting to get pissed, but then I FINALLY got my pictures. On my way out, I saw Santa.



Yes. Santa. I think he's creepy now, but I knew if I didn't have Kaylee's picture taken with him, I could very well regret it. She was EXHAUSTED though. I asked how much the pictures were, took a quick look at Santa (ya know.. to see if he LOOKED real), and was going to leave.

But then, the teenager working the booth said "There's no line.. and Santa does a really sweet 'shooshing' to a sleeping baby. No obligation, but you are already here - what could it hurt?" Of course, when I handed her over, she woke up. Darn! But, the picture still turned out ADORABLE.



I did feel a bit bad that Brian wasn't there though. I really wanted to do that as a family, but again - there was a time thing. And he's not exactly available during the day.

So, by the end of the day, I figured out that all of the studios did have a catch. Every session took 1-2 hours. They managed to drag out the process so long that I don't think I'll ever do this again - unless it's for free. The pictures, overall, suck. But, I think that was 50% Kaylee. Maybe next year will be better.

Scrapbooking

So... I've begun Kaylee's scrapbook. Yes - she will have 2 baby books and a scrapbook. I'm either a really good mommy or crazy. I wouldn't mind a mix of both though. :)


<sub>First page... haha!


My favorite page EVER. So cute. I totally stole it from a magazine I got last year for Christmas from my mother.


I've been wanting to do my ultrasound pictures like this since before I even knew I wanted kids.</sub>

I've also decorated for Christmas. Not as much as I usually do, but just enough to get me into the spirit of things. The holidays have been hard for me for years, so having all the colors and lights around brightens my mood.


<sub>The Tree


Kaylee's first Keepsake ornament


Gift from her Mima</sub>

Kaylee's First Eye Doctor Visit

I have strabismus. It's basically a condition I was born with in which my eye muscles are weak. This caused my eyes to cross very badly.

As seen here:


and here:


I endured 4 surgeries. Ages 2, 9, 11 and finally 25. There is still a possibility I'll need more. Basically, he goes in and tightens my muscles. But, since it's a condition of weakened muscles, they don't stay tight forever. It's an art, not a science, he says.

Dr. O. B. Jackson has been my doctor from the beginning - nearly 30 years. In that same little yellow house on Lawton that I know all too well. The 'livingroom' used to be painted in this crazy 1970s design, similar to this:


Now, it's painted a plain ole beige. When you go into the offices themselves, you'll find all sorts of puppets. And honestly, if I were scared of anything as a kid, it should have been of these:

but, I wasn't. In fact, I looked forward to seeing them clap their symbols.

I seeeeeee you ... muwahahaha


Batman has no eyes!


The collection...


All of them still work. He even turned them on today to see if it would catch Kaylee's attention, but alas, she was more interested in watching him write.

On top of all the puppets, he also has an array of toys for close up examinations. I love Mickey, but my all time favorite is the tongue depressor with the dog that has a fly on it's nose. I'll try to get a picture of that next time. There's also a green dinosaur that is always a hit, especially with the funny little sound effects he does.


All the while looking at and reciting this:

Actually, I kind of kid. Above this Texas Eye Exam chart is a white screen. He plays OLD cartoons on it and also shines a letter chart for the real exam. Somehow though, he was able to tell that Kaylee is +2, which is normal for her age.

She checked out ok; eyes are perfectly aligned. But, because of my history, Dr. Jackson wants to see her every 6 months until at least 2.5 years. That way if she develops anything, he can treat her promptly. So, we're not out of the woods yet, but it is looking good so far!


_{Dr. O. B. Jackson, Kristal, Kaylee}

Baking.. baking... and more baking...

So, something happened to me this morning. I got the baking bug. I made 10 mini loafs of banana nut bread. I intended on making at least that many of beer bread, but I ran out of energy for a little while. Since I didn't have the energy to mix anything, I put a chicken that my FIL seasoned in the oven to bake. Here's hoping I did that right since I've never baked a whole chicken before. After I rested for a little bit, I was back at it. I made a huge salad for me to snack on and then fresh cranberry pecan disasters.. hehe Ok, so the taste wasn't a disaster, but getting them off my stoneware was. It always is. That thing is supposedly great for cookies, but I never can get them off without destroying them. The cranberries popped while baking and OMG they are fantastic! I'm going to have to try this again when I have a better way of removing them from the oven.

Kaylee was either napping or "helping" during all of this madness. She wasn't too into what I was doing though... oh well.

That's it for now.. it's been a long day.

Free Haircut.... success-ish?

Ok.. so, you get what you pay for, right? Well, I didn't pay a dime - you aren't even supposed to tip. The cut isn't horrible, but it definitely isn't great. I had a hairstylist for about 5 years and then she moved away :( She was FABULOUS though. For someone like me to get attached to a hairstylist - let me just say, that's a big deal. She charged $45 and I always gave her a $15 tip. But, I only went once or twice a year. So, for $60-120 a year, my hair typically looked pretty good. Her cuts grew out so nicely, so honestly, while I should have been going more often, I didn't ever remember until it got to the "Ok.. this haircut has lived past it's lifespan" moment. :)~

So, here it is:


Funny story... The appointment was at 2:30, but the ad said to get there 30 minutes early, which to me means get there an hour early. I parked, but just kind of watched the door for traffic. Someone else arrived at 1:45, but I beat him in because I'm sneaky like that.

I got in the chair right at 2:30. The lady asked me what I wanted and I said something between my lips and my chin for length and if you want to keep the layers, that's fine too.. but I'd let her be creative. This is what I tell my old stylist, so I think I'm just used to that... eek. I don't think she was comfortable with what I was saying, so she suggested only taking an inch off to take off the wave/curl. So, I didn't get the length taken off that I wanted - BOO. That was really the main reason I was going in.

I don't know about ya'll, but I think I left with more wave/curl than when I came in.

Oh well. It's only hair and that's always been my thinking... it'll grow back and I can cut it off all over again. It could have been worse.

Taking Frugal to a Whole New Level

So, I make my own laundry detergent... clean with baking soda and vinegar... I'm trying to make things like hot cocoa, pancake mix, bread... But, for the first time ever. I will get a free haircut.

I'm excited, yet scared. Here's hoping I don't completely hate it. Apparently, the Supercuts school does free cuts AND COLOR once a month. Tomorrow, I will go in for a cut.

Before:

Operation: Side Jobs

I need to focus. I need *a* focus. I have so many ideas in my head, I have no idea where to really start.

Here's a list of just a few things I want to do
- open an Etsy store... sell things... sell what? OMG.. the list is just weird.
--- blankets - anyone can sew in a straight line, right??
--- duvet covers - goes along the same lines of sewing in a straight line. But have you seen how much a duvet cover costs?!?
--- homemade hot chocolate mix
--- homemade laundry detergent
--- homemade beer bread mix
--- homemade pancake mix
--- homemade dishwasher detergent
--- rice krispie treats (covered in chocolate/icing/etc)

Is my list too funky to do anything?

But.. that's not all folks. I really need to hammer down and get my freelancing stuff back off the ground. It's sooo easy to do, but I'm having a hard time prying myself away from Kaylee to really concentrate on it. Then again, we would like to send her to college one day... and maybe before then, buy a house that meets our needs better.

I need some real motivation here. But, how can you resist this face?

Hunting Season is Now Open

_{Kaylee in her camo dress that Allison got for her}

So, November 6th has arrived. What does this mean? Basically, that I will be alone for a lot of weekends until the season closes in January. It's ok though because I love the fact that we don't pay for any red meat - only chicken and occasionally pork. Venison, Nilgai, Beef... mmm all super yummy! Our freezer, however is still pretty full.. so I need to start cooking more of this meat before it goes bad.


_{"Awww shucks! I am cute, aren't I mama?"}

Tonight begins my big goal for 2011. TWENTY ELEVEN. O M G... I can't believe how time flies... So, my new goal is a real budget. I've always had a spreadsheet for budgeting, but never a long term goals budget. I imagine it will be many hours and lots of rearranging, but I have fun with this type of stuff. Here's hoping Brian can understand my craziness once I get it complete and ready for him to look over and approve/make changes.

I hope to include menus, shopping lists with current 2010 prices at 2 different stores, projects to be completed with budgets and supplies needed and of course our bills. Those dreaded things that suck the life out of everyone.

My hope by doing all of this is to maybe pay off one and a half of my stupid (I meant to type student, but it came out stupid.. so I'll leave it.. fingers have a mind of their own) student loans in 2011. Because it means we'll have to cut way back, that means I have to start cooking more things from scratch. I'm talking, make your own pasta type from scratch. This is where the family who want time with Kaylee come in.

Here's hoping I can stick to it, because man all mighty, I'm sick of being so strapped for cash, knowing full well that it's my fault. If we can survive just ONE YEAR, it will free up quite a bit. If we can make it a lifestyle change, we'll be sittin' pretty in 3 years.


_{Kaylee sleeping in her carseat}

Four Months

Kaylee, you turned four months old on October 29th. FOUR MONTHS. How did we even get here? It seems like yesterday we were bringing you home. I'm almost positive I'm going to say that every month until I really realize that you are really here and not just a figment of my imagination.

Everyday you manage to do something that makes me giggle. You do a crab crawl on your back while I change you. You discovered your hands and now play with toys. You laugh. Ohh, it's so sweet.. but I haven't caught it on video yet. When I'm not paying attention to the clock, you will let me know by standing up on me, grabbing my shirt and smoshing your face into my chest while screaming. Yes. I do laugh. But, then I feed you and all is right with your world again.



This was a big month for you. And for me. It was the first time I ever left you for more than a day. It was the first time you were on your own against the world. Well, not really.. but that's what I had built up in my head. Would you make it FOUR DAYS without me? Would I be able to survive four days without you??

I realized a few things on my trip to Montreal.
* I have some really awesome virtual friends who I can proudly say are now IRL friends. (yes, I'm a dork.. so shoot me..).. I wish we were all closer because I want you to meet them so badly!
* I can survive without you and you can survive without me... but it still sucked being away while I was off having fun in another country.
* I never knew I could love so hard and deeply.
* You are my best friend and I hope that we will always be close, but I hope I never forget that I am your mom first.

You are developing such a little personality. Happiness is an understatement. While you have your moments, for the most part, you are a very sweet, content and happy baby - everything I have ever wanted for you. I love your little smile... your little hands and feet... your belly... and most importantly the smell of the top of your head after I give you a bath... I will admit, I have almost licked it. But I have refrained.. so far. :)~

Halloween was a big deal for me. I love Halloween. It's my favorite holiday. I decided not to decorate because of time and energy, but next year will be so awesome because you'll be walking. I searched a lot of places for the perfect 1st costume for you. But, the selection was "ehh"... I settled on a really cute bunny outfit, which ended up working out ok. You didn't like it much, but you were adorable in it.