Happy November!

Happy November, party people! We're in the month of Thanksgiving, and around here that means ratcheting up the gratitude! God is so good, all the time, but oftentimes I'm a spoiled brat who focuses on my stress and forgets what I've been blessed with. I spent a little while earlier looking back on Novembers past here on the blog, and while I've not always done a daily post, it's still humbling to see how relentlessly God had blessed and cared for us over the years. So without further ado, a few recent gifts:

We had some really big bills this week. Like Nick's average paycheck would have left us several hundred dollars short, even utilizing every available option available to us. What he brought home instead was several hundred dollars more than usual. It was just a crazy busy pay period, and while we're still stretching to cover gas and groceries, it is so incredibly much better than it could have been. The thing is, I didn't even realize until after I saw his pay stub just how many things we had to take care of this week, so God was providing before we even knew we had the need!

Next Saturday I have a photo shoot, which will bring in a little bit of money.

Nick and I really enjoyed our haunted hike date night about a week ago. It wasn't the sort of thing with people jumping out at you. Rather it was a hike along a very old trail with the park ranger telling us stories about the real families who once lived there and the reported hauntings in their history. What was really neat is that after talking to my mom it looks like the families in question are likely some of my ancestors, as my great grandmother's maiden name was the same as one family, she married someone with the same name as the second family, and she was from that area.

Faith got to put in her notice at her job today, which is directly related to another recent blessing. It has always been her and Robert's desire and conviction for her to be a stay at home mom when their baby comes (in about 4 weeks!). Unfortunately Robert was only on a part time salary as our pastor, and he just didn't make enough to support the three of them on only his income. But they've been steadily praying about it along with the rest of the family, and a couple of weeks ago, with absolutely no suggestion or input from him, her, or anyone from either family, the church voted to increase his pay by several hundred dollars a week as well as add a weekly fuel allowance for him. It was actually more than the number they'd been praying about, and it allowed Faith to go in today and put in her notice.

Tomorrow is also Faith's baby shower, and I'm very excited to be a part of it.

We had a fun and safe Halloween - Morgan, after endless angst, settled on being a black cat, the sum total of which included black pants, a black tank top, and a headband I whipped up some cat ears for out of scrap leather at the last minute. Daisy had been set on going as a "girl ghost", but I didn't have a spare white sheet to cut up. And about a week ago I made a last minute decision to go to a Trunk or Treat at our YMCA and had to come up with some quick and easy costumes. Morgan went as a One Direction fan (guys, she's obsessed!), Jack went as a farmer (long sleeve shirt, overalls, and camo ball cap), and Daisy went as a baby, in fuzzy footed pjs. She was supposed to have a pacifier too, but I couldn't find one at the time. Anyway, she went as a baby on Halloween, and we stepped it up a bit that night with a pacifier and bottle. Jack went as a cowboy in some cute cowboy costume pjs I found for $5 at Walmart earlier in the day.

Wednesday I was really sick, some sort of stomach virus, which didn't feel like much of a blessing, but I was certainly grateful that my parents were able to stop by and stay for a few hours and watch the kids while I suffered through it. They also brought by a few groceries, which is always a help.

Walgreens.com (not an affilate link) is also running a free photo collage deal through tomorrow with code BOOCOLLAGE, which I plan on taking advantage of.

And I've lost 15 pounds so far, so yay!

Anyway, those are just a few sweet things that have come into my life lately. Hope you guys will play along and take note of your own blessings - I promise it will make every day better!

Scattered.

I've been stretching myself a little thin lately. Last month, besides going to the gym and taking Morgan to soccer practice and games, I've had three doctor's visits for the kids, one dentist appointment, a couple of Etsy orders, some mending for a girl at church, birthday gifts to make for Robert, Kelly, and Will, Trick or Treat bags to make for Kit and Maddox, a Halloween wreath to make for Kate (I needed the last three done so early so I could mail them all together with Will's birthday gift to Texas), sewing for Daisy's birthday, mending for Nick (broken zipper on his gym bag), and three photo shoots for the same couple - one engagement, one rehearsal dinner, and one wedding, and we're talking over 2600 shots that needed to be culled, edited, and converted from RAW format. I'm still working my way through those since the rehearsal dinner and wedding were just this last weekend.

This month promises to be just as busy. Friday we have a youth event at church that Nick and I will be helping with, Saturday is Daisy's birthday (fourth!) which entails a small family party and for which I still have a few skirts to sew (her special birthday request), Sunday is our church's homecoming, the 10th is Logan's first birthday and party (have to make him a gift), the 12th I have Faith's maternity shoot, the 13th is Melanie's baby shower (for which I have yet to make a gift), the 16th is James' birthday (gotta make a gift) the 17th is my birthday, although I don't have any plans for it, the 19th is the church picnic, the 26th is Faith's baby shower (and yes, I still need to make her a gift). And of course Halloween is 5 days later, and I'm going to have to come up with 3 costumes somewhere, although Daisy is making it easy for me by insisting on going as a "girl ghost" (white sheet with eye holes and a pink bow on top, and done!).

All of that is to say that I've let some things around here go. Like everything. The house has truly gotten to an atrocious state, and my car was the same. Saturday I had to leave for the wedding earlier than Nick. He was actually running the sound system for the ceremony, but I had to get there early to start photographing the bride getting ready. I took his truck so that he could have the car to drop the kids and car seats off at his parents' house since they were going to bring them to the wedding and watch them so we could work. Many exhausting hours later we switched cars back after the wedding, and I got in mine to find it absolutely spotless. When I got home, the living room was immaculate.

Now obviously I really appreciate Nick doing all of that for me (with Morgan's help). It took a huge load off of me, but it also made me feel really, really guilty. He'd mentioned the car and the house, the living room especially a few times over the last few weeks, and I knew I was dropping the ball. So when all of a sudden something I'm supposed to do gets taken off my plate, I feel like there's bound to be a cost to that, and that maybe there should be. So when I apologized that he'd had to do it himself that night, he informed me that he was going to deal with it later, which in our house means a spanking.

And I was...relieved. Not that I wanted to get spanked, just that I felt like I probably deserved to, and that the universe would be back in balance so to speak once it happened. The truth is, I've not been handling my time wisely, and when I let things get too crazy, I really do need him to come down hard on me. I hate it at the time, but it refocuses me, and it reminds me that there are consequences to my actions. 

Even with the kids in bed at a reasonable hour these days, it's rare for a punishment to happen the same night it's brought up, so I wasn't surprised that he went to bed without handling it that night. But the next day I was fairly sure he was going to do it after the kids were in bed. To my surprise, he went to be without mentioning it again, and by that point I had reached the stage where I genuinely dread and fear what's coming, so I decided that was a positive thing. When I went up a couple of hours later and he snuggled up behind me with sweeter things on his mind I was pleasantly surprised and more than willing. 

"This is a nice surprise," I murmured. "I though I was getting a spanking tonight."

"Mmm..you need one," he answered. But then he wasn't interested in talking anymore, and by the time we were done he had decided to let it go. 

The next morning he told me he wanted me to work on the house and concentrate on the kitchen. But the day was crazy, and I spent it editing pictures, chasing kids, and keeping the living room as clean as he'd had it, and somehow the kitchen didn't get done.

Today he came home early from work, sick to his stomach and battling a headache. I gave him something for the pain and put him to bed, and he slept a good 4 or 5 hours. I worked on the kitchen some, but I also did a lot of child wrangling and picture editing, and it still isn't done. Tonight when he went to bed he told me that he wants me to have it done tomorrow, and I plan to do just that. But I feel like I've gotten away with something I shouldn't have, like I ran over him by not focusing on what he asked me to do, and I don't like it. 

Okay, I know I said I was letting this go...

...and I am, I swear! But I need to vent one last time about this whole Kelly/Grant/photographer thing. And then I'm putting it to bed, I promise!

Tonight I saw the pictures on Facebook. And they were okay. Decent. Some of them were quite good even. But not one of them was exceptional. There wasn't a single shot that showed great imagination or perspective, and a few of them were even pretty close versions of some I shot in the hospital. My point is, without implying that I'm anywhere close to the best there is (because that's certainly not true), I know I could have done just as good a job if not better. 

And that makes me feel a little bit better. But here's what makes me a little more irritated and hurt: I took a peek at the photographer's prices. Her fee for  what they had done is $200.00. Now that's not outrageous by any means. That included an hour of shooting and a CD of all the edited shots. That's actually a very reasonable price for on location photography. But this:

Let me say first that I firmly believe that in a family, you help people out just because you love them. Nick does mechanic work for both my family and his frequently at no charge (although my dad generally insists on giving him something). My mother-in-law cuts our hair and does my coloring and waxing at no charge. I act as tech support for her for all things computer. Nick's dad mows our yard when we're on vacation, and he stops by all the time to cut down a tree or fix a fence, or whatever needs fixing. I can't begin to list all the things my mom does for us. All of us have at one time or another hopped in the car late at night to jump start a stranded family member's car or bring them a gallon of gas. And I do photography for any of them, as often as they ask, and certainly at no charge. When I did Kelly's maternity session I drove a considerable distance, during a week when we really didn't have the extra gas money (which is kind of every week lately). I spent a lot of time taking pictures and several hours in editing, at the end of which I handed over my images to her free and clear. They never offered to pay me for any of this, nor did I expect them to. That's just what family does. 

But it hurts me a little that they happily handed $200 over to a complete stranger to do the same thing. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but it just seems like at a time when they know funds are pretty continually tight for us, they might consider choosing me to hire if they wanted to pay someone. Nick's dad is kind of bad about doing the same thing. He's had his truck towed to a shop and spent $600 to have them fix it when Nick was offering to not only drive 45 minutes to where he was stranded, but pick up the necessary part and fix it on the spot for just enough to cover the price of the part. It just feels like they would rather spend extra money than see us benefit from it, and I don't understand it. Nick works on $80,000 cars daily, and he's been in the business since he was 18, so it's not like he doesn't have the skill and knowledge to do it. I think it boils down to feeling like we're taken for granted and not respected.

Anyway, all done venting. I promise, no more about it.

Today of course was Halloween. Normally we go to church on Wednesdays, but I stayed home with the kids to take them trick or treating. Morgan went as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, and she looked great! When I got to go to the craft store for my birthday I picked up some blue gingham, and my mom whipped up a quick Dorothy dress. I found some red dress shoes at the thrift store yesterday for $2.99, and a bottle of glitter and some spray adhesive later, we had ruby slippers. :)

Daisy was supposed to be an "angel princess". I had a pair of angel wings I found at a yard sale last summer, and she had a fancy pink dress we got in a bag of clothes from Elizabeth, and a princess crown my mom got for her to wear at her birthday party. I got a 3 pack of princess wands at the Dollar Tree today, and we were all set. But when it came down to it, she insisted on wearing an Old Navy shirt with a pumpkin on it, jeans, and the crown, and going as "a pumpkin princess." Oh well.

Jack was a baby ninja, and I have to say he was the cutest ninja I've ever seen! The ninja costume was another thrift store find back in the summer, and I have to say I was pretty happy with our frugal Halloween! The kids had a blast trick or treating, got tons of candy, and wore themselves out. 

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Happy Halloween!

November already!

Gosh, I can’t believe it’s already November! This whole year has honestly just flown by! So, a few gratitude items:
ABCs of Gratitude:
L,M, & N since I missed a few weeks…
Love – it almost seems to trite and obvious, but how could I leave it out?
Lemons – I love just about anything lemon flavored (Nick made me a lemon cake with cream cheese icing for my birthday), and I love how fresh and clean they make things smell!
Lips – Nick has the most amazing lips, and I love everything they do!
Laptops – Right now we’re having some problems with both of ours. Mine has something wrong with it that no virus scan seems to be able to find, and Nick’s is currently in pieces waiting on us to be able to order a part it needs. But even if I can only use mine in safe mode right now, I’m so glad I have it!
Making things – this year is going to be by and far a handmade Christmas, but I’m pretty confident that the projects I have in the works are suitable and gift-worthy, and I’m grateful to have the skill to make them!
Marriage – I’m so very blessed in the marriage God has given me. Like any couple, we have our disagreements, but I truly believe that ours is a great love story.
Nick – Of course this is the guy that makes that last one so great.
Naps – I don’t get to take them all that often just because life is so busy these days, but I sure do enjoy the luxury when I get the opportunity! In fact, I came home today from a super stressful trip to Wal-Mart and Target with both kids, just ready to pull my hair out, and Nick sent me upstairs to take one and just decompress. It was wonderful!
Nikon – I love my camera, and I’m so glad I went with the one I chose!

Recent blessings- The wedding Nick and I shot the day after my last post went very well. It was Nick’s first time shooting, and he was really nervous, but he did great, and we had a lot of fun working together! Also, when Nick’s sister came to pick her camera back up, she refused to take the $50 payment for letting us use it!
I passed my glucose test! I was VERY excited about this. Diabetes runs heavily in my family, and every time you have gestational diabetes it increases your likelihood of developing the disease later on down the road. Since I had it with Daisy despite keeping my weight gain strictly under control, I was pretty resigned to finding out I had it with this baby too. And beyond dreading all the extra precautions and sugar testing and special diet, I was really dreading having to shell out an extra $40 a month or so for blood sugar test strips, so it was a big relief to find out I passed!
Nick was on vacation last week, and I loved having him home! We did the wedding on Monday, then just kind of had a relaxing week together. He got to go spend one day playing golf with one of his friends and one of my brothers, and on Thursday he was able to go haul off some more scrap metal, which gave us some much needed extra money to make a couple of payments (including the house payment!)
The kids had a good time last night trick or treating. Morgan had just kind of a random costume going on with heavy zombie looking eyes and fake blood all over her face. Daisy had the CUTEST lady bug costume, but she HATED it! I ended up just sticking her in her warm fuzzy footsie pajamas and wheeling her around the neighborhood in her stroller with Morgan. She was amazed at the whole thing though - she couldn't believe all the candy she got (and neither could I!).
I’ve gotten a few Christmas gifts knocked out already. I’m making some zipper pouches for some of the women in the family. I have one of those done, as well as a couple of bird feeders made from thrifted tea cups and saucers and copper pipe. They’re really pretty! I’m also giving out 7 sets of these nativity sets, and I’ve got all of them done, along with a set for us.

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I’ve also made a set of coasters for James, and I’ve got the painting done on 4 of the 6 recipe card holders I’m making. I also made a heat bag/neck warmer for my parents. And I got a free bottle of nail polish with a coupon at Target today – stocking stuffer! But I still have a ton to do, so I’ve got to get going on it! Less than 8 weeks till Christmas!

Baby Update:
Week 26 of Pregnancy: Baby's Eyes Open

Your baby's eyes — which have been closed for the past few months — are now beginning to open. Your baby's brain-wave activity is also kicking in at this stage in fetal development, which means your little one can not only hear noises but can now also respond to them.

Look who's looking. Your baby's eyes — which have been closed for the past few months (so that the retina, the part of the eye that allows images to come into focus, could develop) — are beginning to open at 26 weeks pregnant. What this means is that your baby is able to see what's going on now (unfortunately the view in your uterus isn't all that exciting). But do try this at home for kicks (baby's that is): Shine a flashlight at your stomach. Your baby might kick in response (as in: "Get that light out of my eyes!").
The iris, the colored part of the eye, still doesn't have much pigmentation (that'll fill in over the next month or two), so it's too early to start guessing your baby's eye color. Even the color your baby will be born with might not be the permanent shade; so you may be kept guessing until your baby is close to six months old.
Look what else is going on this week: Your baby's brain-wave activity is kicking in at this stage in fetal development, which means your little one can not only hear noises but can now also respond to them. Not in so many words, of course, but with an increase in pulse rate or activity.
And talking about activity, at your baby's current height and weight (about nine inches tall and two pounds), and at the rate he or she is growing, your baby will soon be feeling a little cramped in your uterus. Not to worry, there's still plenty of room for your baby to grow. It just means your gymnast will have less room for those somersaults, cartwheels, and other Olympic feats.

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Pumpkin Carving

Nick carved our pumpkins today, and as always, he did an outstanding job! The one on the right (also pictured below) is actually for a contest at my work. I got permission for him to do the carving for my team, and I think they'll all be pleased. Happy Halloween!

Halloween's coming...

I recently wrote an article for South Coast Pleasure called The Joy of Role Play. South Coast has started carrying some gorgeous lingerie, not to mention some awesome fetish costumes, and they have one for almost every fantasy I wrote about! Go check them out!

It's Pumpkin Carving Time!

Nick did an awesome job on our pumpkins! We have: A Spooky Castle, Mike Wasowski (Monster's Inc.), and Spongebob Squarepants.

Halloween Whipping...

This is definitely the best Halloween picture I've seen so far this year. Thanks to Journey to the Darkside for posting it!