Too Long To Tweet

I am pretty much only capable of random thoughts right now, my mind is so foggy. Little baby man has hijacked my uterus and my mind…

- I had what I originally thought was déjà vu today, only to come to the conclusion that what I had witnessed had in fact already happened the day before. Motherhood can be damn monotonous. How do you break up the monotony?

-The oil spill is really sad, and hits a little too close to home. The lack of resolution and responsibility from BP is downright disgusting.

-Have you been watching American Idol? Every time I watch it I can’t help but wonder if Ellen’s eyes are really that blue…? They are kinda creepy. Who do you want to win?

- Did you watch the Bachelorette? I did, although I am not sure I will continue. I can’t really stand Ali and her valley girl tendencies.

-I didn’t breastfeed either of my boys, by 9 months time I am in desperate need of lithium. I have been considering trying to breastfeed this baby, but only for the first few weeks so he could get the colostrum. My question to all you BF pros, is how long before your nipples become sore, bloody, and cracked..? I am not going to lie, that freaks me out. (The bodiless baby breastfeeding pic below, also freaks me out.)

- I think little baby man has turned, I keep getting really strong jabs to my ribs. Its either that or he is taking up kung fu and has some powerful fists. This excites me because I read that your baby will likely be breech if you have placenta previa, so I am hoping this means my placenta has moved. I will find out at 32 weeks if I still have it or not.

 

- How do you get your kid to stop picking their nose…? Ro, the fussiest eater ever thinks boogers are a delicacy, and its killing me.

Three

I made a short video clip for Ezra documenting this last year of his life. Its been an unbelievable journey, and I am beyond proud of my son.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!!

Heavy Heart

I wanted to post about all the things I am so grateful for, and all that I have learned this last year. But the truth is, my heart is heavy.

One year ago today I stood in the deli section of our grocery store and listened as a Dr. told me over the phone that my son needed to be seen by a pediatric oncologist. Purely precautionary, he said.

One year ago today, my family walked away from our grocery filled shopping cart, and walked into what has forever changed our familial landscape as we knew it….

And so these last few weeks have been flooded with the raw memories of all that we have been through this last year. I have found myself crying, on more than one occasion.

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This morning while watching Ezra play, I found me eyes welling with tears. He came and sat on my lap and asked, Mama crying? I told him yes, but Mama is happy. And then he caught my tears in his chubby palms as they fell down my face. Got it! he exclaimed as he caught a fresh tear and giggled.

365 calendar days may have passed in this epic story, but not a thing has changed about my sweet boy. He is still the same lighthearted, boisterous, sweet old soul that he has always been.

While I would like to say Ezra’s cancer hasn’t changed me either, it has and in ways I never thought possible.

I treasure every day a little more.

I listen to my intuition.

I believe in myself.

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I can’t wait until we are on the other side of this story, when leukemia is a part of our past. When Ezra is a grown man with a son of his own. I can’t wait to tell his children what an amazing person he is, and always has been…..

Keep fighting the good fight, sweet boy.

And know that Mama will never stop fighting for you.

You boys are my everything.

I love you.

Photo Shoot Take 2

After we left the bug infested wildflower field we headed to the train tracks, for one last try. These pictures turned out much, much better. What can I say train tracks and rocks make my boys happy.

I edited them with some vintage effects and added a little texture, I adore these photos.

 

This one is my favorite and I will be ordering it for a frame, aren’t they adorable??!

And in other news my photography site got a new look! Much thanks to Staci from Blogging Bella Designs, she does amazing work and is super fast. Check her out if you are needing a new blog design!

Photo Shoot Gone Awry…

This time of year Florida’s fields are bursting with wildflowers. Ever since the wildflower season started I have kept my eyes peeled for a spot to take pictures at, and driving home from the middle of nowhere the other day I thought I had found the perfect spot.

Not so much….

It looks like the perfect spot upon first glance, but once you are out in the thick of it you quickly realize a field of wildflowers is also a haven for ants, and numerous other bugs.

I wasn’t able to get hardly one shot!

All I kept getting were shots like this with Ezra’s eyebrows in a furrow…..

We were there all of ten minutes before everyone had enough of Mom’s great idea. I was able to get this one shot! After that we packed up and headed to the train tracks to take one last attempt at getting some good pictures of the boys. Those were much better, and I will share tomorrow.

Lesson learned: We don’t belong among the wildflowers…..

6 Months

6 months! Can you believe it? I can’t. I also can’t believe how huge I already am. I didn’t realize I looked so pregnant until I saw this picture!

I am officially uncomfortable. It is harder to walk, bend over, get up, and breathe. I have started picking up as much as I can with my feet. Not to mention little baby man is still breech and his wails to my bladder are starting to hurt.

I have been quite the procrastinator with this pregnancy, there are tasks I know I need to do before the baby comes, and items I know I need to buy, but I keep putting it off. I finally bought a car seat so at least they will let me take him home! And we are finally transitioning Ezra to a big bed, now we just have to put the boys into a room together. Any words of wisdom on that subject would greatly be appreciated.

Still no middle name for little baby man. Why do we even have middle names..?

We took the boys out for a little photo shoot over the weekend that is why I am on train tracks. More pictures to come later this week. Its a pretty big week in our lives, but more on that later!

Wordful Wednesday- My Loves

There are times when we are moving about our day that I wish my camera was strapped to my neck. Yesterday I caught the boys watching their daddy do some work outside and it was so cute, I ran to grab my camera thinking they wouldn’t be at the window when I got back. Much to my amazement they still were.

I don’t think I have ever loved a picture more, my three loves! I so love my boys.

This picture is unrelated, but I still love it! I let the boys run through the sprinkler and captured this shot of Ezra. Can he stare right through you or what? There is so much wisdom behind those little eyes its scary!

I am playing along with Angie’s Wordful Wednesday this week!

Photography Resources- Bloggography.

With the summer fast approaching and also the birth of little baby man we have decided to take a break with Bloggography for awhile. But we didn’t want to leave you high and dry, so Lolli and I are sharing some of our favorite photography resources with you.

Also, Lolli and I are throwing around the idea of putting together a Bloggography E-book, that would include many more new tutorials. Before we put a lot of time into writing this though we are wondering who would be interested? If you would be interested in purchasing a Bloggography E-book please take the poll in my sidebar. Thanks!

Great Websites:

Digital Photography School

Flickr (check out the groups, there are some great discussions and advice in them)

Coffee Shop 

i heart faces

I love photography

Texas Chicks Blogs and Pics

Pioneer Woman Photography

Great Books:

Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera (Updated Edition)

Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3

The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers

 David Busch's Quick Snap Guide To Lighting

 How to Photograph Absolutely Everything: Successful Pictures From Your Digital Camera

 

I hope you all spend plenty of time outdoors this summer with your camera!

Random Tips & Tidbits From Our Road Trip

 

Sorry for the lack of blogging, I have been recovering from our cross country trek. Overall the family road trip to MN was very successful. I couldn’t believe how well behaved the boys were. It was nothing short of a miracle….

We did however learn quite a few things on our road trip. There are many things I would do differently if I ever had to do it again. I thought I would share my new found wisdom with you. In case you are ever insane brave enough to try it with your family.

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- Thinking you can drive straight through the night while 5+ months pregnant is a very noble notion, but will result in you crying at how uncomfortable you are and scrambling to find a hotel in the middle of nowhere at 1am.

- Trying to pee in an emergency pickle jar in rush hour traffic, also a noble notion, but    trust me it sounds much easier than it is….I had performance anxiety and could not complete this feat.

- If pregnant and road tripping plan on stopping every 2 hours and 20 minutes, you will have to pee about that often. Also pee before any major city, you never know how long you will be in traffic.

- Rest areas are a road trippers best friend, and there aren’t nearly enough of them. They were great for letting the boys run in circles, and of course peeing.

- A Pull-Up can not hold three juice boxes, I repeat, a Pull-Up can not hold three juice boxes.

- If your child tells you they are not feeling well, they are not just looking for attention. Quickly find something for your child to spew into.

- Bring towels, and garbage bags. Bodily fluids happen.

- Iowa and Illinois never end.

- If you have a mini-van the 3rd row seat is the way to go, I was much more comfortable back there than in the passenger seat. Not to mention I couldn’t see as much of the TN mountains which sent my blood pressure soaring.

- Pack some lunches if you can. Fast food quickly loses it appeal, I would die happy if I never had to eat at a McDonalds again.

- Most importantly, relax and expect the unexpected.

So happy to be home!

Bloggography, Focus Challenge

Each week, Lolli and I  pick out our favorite entry into the previous challenge, go check out Lolli’s blog to see who she chose. This week I chose Sheri’s picture from The Shades of Pink.  I love the dandelions!

This week we asked you to work on focus, here is my picture.

We'll be posting some of our favorite shots from this week's challenge in two weeks. Will we pick yours?

Don’t forget to grab a button or link back to Lolli and I on your post . And make sure you add your picture to the Flickr group as well. You don’t even need a blog to participate, you can just leave the link to your picture in the Flickr group.

The MckLinky will be up for one week, so you have plenty of time to take a picture still!

Don’t forget to go check out my co-hosts picture!

And now for the sharing of photos!