Happy Easter!

He is risen!

Easter is my favorite holiday next to Christmas. We do matching outfits, portraits, baskets, Resurrection cookies, Bible stories, egg hunts, everything. Except the bunny. Freaks me out.

This week was interesting. Everyone has had sinus infections and ear infections. Woohoo. We've all felt like junk, including me. Plus, we've had a ton of stuff to do to prepare for the church Easter program - which was amazing. I cried while taking pictures.

We did gift baskets (without candy) and the Resurrection cookies last night. This morning B was off to church bright and early while I got everyone ready. During service I juggled the babies and a camera to capture everything - okay, I may have bribed them with Netflix after awhile.

Right after church we had our church egg hunt, which the kids loved. Probably because there was candy, which is a rarity for them. We came home and opened the oven and finished our story of the Resurrection and ate our cookies and lunch. Then we had our own egg hunt in the backyard.

Then I realized I pushed myself too hard today coz I was having Braxton Hicks and seeing spots and colors, so now I'm laying in bed. Overall, great Easter. I had the opportunity to worship Jesus with the ones I love most and you can't beat that.

You know what stinks?

Having a sinus and an ear infection when you're nearly 30 weeks pregnant.

Worse?

The kids have it, too.

Even worse still?

It's right before Easter Sunday and both you and your husband are needed for service but neither kid can go to Sunday School.

At least we're still able to praise The Lord for what He's done.

Blessed be the name of our Risen King!

Crazy crazy crazy

Things have been crazy.

Preschool interview: check! We find out the final verdict soon, but they are seriously considering contracting me as their school photographer. I have a meeting with the board in a few weeks, but if I could get it it'd be a huge blessing.

Baby and me are doing well. All of the mountains from the beginning of the pregnancy are turning into mole hills, praise God. My new midwife even thinks we could have future children as the bicornuate uterus isn't negatively affecting anything! Every time a scare comes up ( I had all the markers for pre-e) the blood work comes up clean and the symptoms dissipate. My midwife is so proud and thrilled by how everything is turning around. We're thrilled as well. We do still have a plan in place in case of a premie, but she's confident that we won't need it.

The kids are growing and learning by leaps and bounds. Auds is now in the big kid classes at Sunday school and is learning memory verses and praying in addition to what she does at home. It's amazing to see her quote a bunch of scriptures. Tony is obsessed with all things motorized: cars, trucks, trains, planes, fire trucks and is great with imaginary play.

I'm staying busy with portrait sessions and working on building my business and planning for a 6 week baby leave starting mid-May. It's already wearing me harder to do portrait sessions, so I'm stopping then.

My best friend also had her twins and we're so excited for them. She had to have a section coz twin a was presenting transverse- not even breech and they could not turn her despite their best efforts. But all are healthy and doing well. :)

We're managing this new season of life and adjusting to the new challenges ahead of us. Overall, life is good with our insanely busy schedules and all the changes ahead. If I could get some more sleep, though, that'd be great.

Happy Day

Now that my midwives and I have overcome most of my issues (except the painful swelling that just started this weekend), and the stomach bug has left the house, I think I finally have the second trimester energy.

Yup, I get it two weeks before the third trimester! How's that for timing?! Haha

The past three nights I've cooked good ol' Cajun meals from scratch - jambalaya, steak and gravy, and tonight it's red beans and rice.

Today we made blanket forts, had nap time, I made monkey munch, we went outside to play in the back yard and now the kids are taking a bubble bath before we get ready for dinner and church.

Not too shabby if you ask me.

The Dramas of Vomit

Every mom who has been around the block at least once knows how fun a house full of vomit can be.

Every mom who has been around the block with littles while pregnant at least once knows how much fun it is when you're the cause of a house full of vomit.

Count me in the second category.

This week, I have managed to keep down: two small servings of pasta, a little bit of soup, and some gatorade. In a week. The first few days, I thought...maybe Drum's just a little upset at that. It'll go away. After day 5, I'm begging mercy!

I think I have christened every room of the house. What fun that is. You know what's even more fun, when you have a backload of work and can't do it. Or, when your preschooler pretends to fake vomit over the slightest thing. Or, when your toddler slips in the vomit trail that leads down the hall and around the corner coz you couldn't make it to the bathroom in time.

Yup. Times are good. Oi. At least I have an appointment with my midwifes on Tuesday and hopefully they can help.

Tough Decisions

I always wanted to homeschool. I just thought it would be great and I'd get to spend time with the kids and help them explore their world and learn together. I especially wanted to homeschool since the schools in our area are NOT AT ALL desirable.

However, I with my assistant having been on bed rest and about to deliver a baby and dealing to the adjustment of being a new mom I have realized... I just can't. It broke my heart to admit it. I just can't run a successful business where I have to devote 100% of my attention to my clients when they're here AND give my kids and their academics the attention they'll need AT THE SAME TIME. I've tried to work with them since my Mac finally got fixed and it just turned out to be a "let's destroy mommy's studio and see how many props we can try to break and how big of a mess we can try to make" fiasco. If it were just my house, meh, it's alright. If I could run a business during naptime, I could do that.

But photography isn't like that. There's consults and meetings and networking and marketing and portrait sessions and editing sessions and viewing and ordering sessions and pickup sessions and, apparently, the need for run-on sentences. When my clients are here paying me for quality portraiture, I just can't have my toddler running naked through the background of their shot. That won't end up on anyone's walls.

So, we made the decision to invest in private Christian school. Break.my.heart.

Then, it was finding the right one. Which one had a good reputation? Which one had good test scores? Which one would accept us if we're out of town? Which one would accept us if we weren't that denomination? Which one wouldn't cost 10k/kid/year not including books and uniforms and extracurriculars? Which one wasn't an incredibly long drive away? Which one still had openings?

Did you know that if you're from out of town you can get charged up to $500 per kid per year? Then, if you're not their particular denomination, it's an extra $500 per kid per year? That's 2k per kid, per year in addition to $600 a month tuition and uniforms, books, etc. For preschool. WHAT?! Get into elementary and high school and it's 10k a year a piece. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I know that they have the right to charge what they charge and that it is a luxury to be able to send your kid, but holy cow. I wasn't expecting that.

And then they book up. In advance. Way in advance. The school we were looking at booked up preschool last year. For the fall 2013 semester. Seriously? I have a friend who looked into it for her daughter in December and is wait-listed. Wait-listed! For preschool! And it's competitive. Really competitive.

They give priority to the children of the staff first.

Then they give priority to younger siblings of children already there.

Then they give priority to tithing church members. I know people who don't want to go to the "owning" church, but will tithe there while attending their church just so they can be counted as "members" and have a greater chance to get in.

Then they open it to the public.

It's like trying to get into college. And these are 3 and 4 year olds.

But, we lucked out. There is a new academy opening up this fall. Because they're newer, their fees aren't quite so high. They only charge 2.5k a year per kid. The next cheapest is 3.5k. Then they go up to 10-12k. Per year. Per kid. No frills attached. Anyway, they're accepting applications and interviews (you have to have references and be interviewed as a family to get in) until the end of this month. There are a couple of prek4 spots open. A handful at most. I had them rush me an application which is being sent back and am trying to schedule the soonest possible interview appointment.

Fingers crossed, prayers being said, everything else that they like us and accept us. If they don't I have no idea what we'll do. We can't do public preschool. I have no idea how to school them at home without either their education or the business suffering. It's a wing and a prayer right now that we can get in to a brand new school that most people haven't yet heard about that's already 99% booked for the fall. It's February. Am I the only one who thinks this is nuts?


And, we're saving up to send Auds to dance school. I didn't want to force her into being a prima ballerina and don't think kids should be forced into activities at a young age to fit stereotypes. Yes, I believe in gender roles as the Bible lays out. But for society reasons, pfffffb. Well, Auds has been obsessed with ballet and Angelina Ballerina for about a year now. Begging to go to dance class. Making up dances and performing shows in the living room and/or for anyone who will watch.

Okay, I'll let you go kid. Well, then it's trying to find a decent school. Which one is ethical (actually teaching fundamentals instead of trying to steal money)? Which one has a good reputation? Which one isn't booked up? Which one isn't too far away? Which one won't dress my little angel as a hooker and send her out to shake that thang on stage to a song and dance routine that is way to vulgar and mature for her age? Oi.

We found one. There is one ONE local Christian dance school that doesn't believe in full makeup and skimpy costumes for preschoolers. In fact, modesty in dress and movement is one of their key tennents. Woo hoo! I was even more happy to learn that their end-of-the-year recital is a dance interpretation to a Bible story. Last year they did Ruth. Yay! And it's less than half of what the other dance schools cost. Others cost $100+ per month. This one costs $40. How they do that, I don't know. But I'm grateful.

Soooo, now we have to register and apply and interview for dance classes.

I don't want to burn my baby doll out. Our schedules are crazy as it is with prayer meetings, services, Bible studies, youth services, etc. Then to add school and dance school. If she weren't begging, I wouldn't even consider it. But I also don't want to make her think she can't go after her dreams. If she has a passion for dance, who am I do discourage her?

It'll all work out, but I never thought I'd be in this position, let alone schools be so hard to get into. Is it just in the south where it's cut-throat like this? We don't live in a huge city at all. Oi.

No new updates on Drum, my next midwife appointment is next week. Praying all is well. :)

I'm Back!

Why the long leave of absence? Well, my Mac crashed. It spent a week and a half trying to back up and get repaired with a computer technician. That didn't work. Then, it spent a week and a half at the Apple store getting a completely new hard drive. So, I've been pretty much out of commission for a month.

Unable to blog (on here or on my business), unable to work on portraits, unable to work on marketing, unable to do pretty much all of the things that it takes to run an actual business. I booked a wedding in my kitchen during lunch time while my kids made a mess and I scribbled on pen and paper. Kickin' it old school.

That's not the only interesting thing that's been going on here. We got a second opinion on the $15k weekly shots. Turns out, they're good for preterm delivery brought on by contractions. I've never had that problem. My problem is premature pre-rupture of membranes. In my case, it does more harm than good. Plus, they will pretty much incapacitate me. The side effects will leave me feeling completely hungover/fluish. I can't take care of two kids, run a business and be a preacher's wife laying in bed. Oi.

So, in order to not automatically have to take those or have a section (our state laws are so backwards that there's not much choice in these matters), I have to drive to the next state for my appointments, labs, and ultrasounds. We'll even be driving over there to have him. It makes for very long days, but my midwives are super great with the kids that it helps to take the burden off.

I've been working on paperwork and blah blah blah to make sure everything is as smooth as possible. Of course people think I'm nuts driving 2 hours for better care when I could just "get it over with," but I'm not gonna just have a section. I've had two relatively normal deliveries before, and I can do it again. If I could deliver T on 27 ml of pitocin with no pain meds, I know I can do a natural birth if given the chance.

My assistant has been put on bed rest for preterm labor. Of course, I completely understand and I don't want her to come anywhere out of that bed. However, it just puts me in a hard spot. Weddings, portrait sessions, client meetings are all up in the air coz I don't have another assistant. Eek.

Add to all of that that I decided to redo the studio (I'm insane), go through all of Auds' old clothes to sell via virtual garage sale (let me know what you need!) and consignment (I'm really insane as they're taking over the studio), and get caught up on all of the month's worth of work that I'm behind on.

Oi.

And, my babies are growing up. Sniff sniff. T just made 2 on Monday. Two! I can't believe it. He's such a ham. I'll have to post pictures if I can get them off of my old phone. Old phone? Yes! My phone died as well, right before the computer. I had to get a new phone and have no pictures or numbers, which makes it very interesting when clients and friends call expecting I know who they are.

Anyway, the kids' birthday party is this weekend. We're doing a very low-key affair. I'm making a watermelon cake, serving fruits and veggies, and the kids are all going to play outside on their new swingset.

Auds turns 4 this coming Tuesday. Four! When did the time pass? She is too, too smart. She's an incredible artist and has now been working on writing. Most kids start with their names, but mine wrote "10 Commandments" today. Oh, yeah! Proud mama moment!

 It's not perfect, but considering she's never tried to write out a word before, that's pretty awesome! 

Hopefully things will calm down now. It's been a crazy start to the year.