2007 August archive at Filtering Life

Archive for August, 2007

Got Milk?

Published by Kelly August 31st, 2007 in Chloe Grace. 18 Comments

Well I apparently don’t. The time has come. Today marks the last day of breastfeeding for Chloe. I saw it coming a mile away, but still, now that it is here, it is sad.

Once we started real table food about 6 weeks ago, she automatically dropped down to three feedings. The “before bed feeding” wasn’t interesting her anymore (well excuses me for trying!) She just pushed me away as if I was offering acid. The last two were the mid-afternoon…after her nap…. which got axed quickly because of a yeast infection she had all over her body…poor kid. So we had to start feeding the really good yogurt with all the live things in it instead.

The only remaining feeding was first thing in the morning.

This is the one I really enjoyed. It was our special time together, we could lay in bed and be lazy, then afterwards she would just snuggle, talk, and play around in the covers. It was so sweet. Lo and behold about 3 weeks ago we started to spy our first gum bump. Finally at 9.5 months she was getting a tooth. Not only did I know this, but my nipple gave me a clue when she started turning our morning session into something like a lion tearing away at the flesh of a zebra. Call 911 because my boobs were on fire! Latch, re-latch, re-latch again….holy mother of pain and suffering. She also was losing interest quickly and preferred to just have her banana and oatmeal.

Truth be told, I have never “loved” breastfeeding. I know lots of mothers who think it is the cat’s meow. I do think it is totally awesome and special….but from day one Chloe and I have not been a compatible match. It literally took months before it wasn’t excruciating to feed. Even after that about once a month she would go through a week’s spell where she would regress and tear me up again. I sooooooooooooooooo admire the moms who diligently pump all day long when breastfeeding doesn’t seem to work. I hate pumping…..HATE it! The last time I pumped was in March. I really think it is so awesome and sacrificial to be that dedicated to the cause.

So at 10 months, our season is over. I was a bit melancholy about it this morning, but I know she is ready, she expresses no desire to do it and she is such a great eater with whole foods.

So long lefty, so long righty…..they are all yours again Ryan! Now isn’t that the way you want to celebrate “Labor Day”?

plus one

Published by Kelly August 29th, 2007 in Life in General. 14 Comments

We added a new family member Monday night. He was suppose to wait until Tuesday at 7:00am, but unfortunately, he was not about to wait anymore than he needed to. My sister in law, Paula went into full labor! The planned c-section got bumped up about 15 hours. My brother, Jamie, got his little boy. Noah Mateo was born a little after 5:00pm on August 27th. Weighing in at 7lbs, 8oz and 20 inches, the perfect average! He is the spiting image of my brother at birth. Squishy nose and everything. Aunt Kelly got to play photographer. Hospital shots are never the best, but you get the idea.

Isabel getting ready to meet her brother.

Isabel was not too impressed with her new brother. Sorry Charlie, he is going home with you!

of course Chloe was there to greet her new cousin.

Did this make me want another wee one? NOPE! Not one bit. Guess I am still not ready.

Go white girl, go white girl, go……

Published by Kelly August 28th, 2007 in For Kicks and Giggles and Life in General. 17 Comments

I tell ya what. There is one consistent thread in shooting weddings….you can spot a white people reception a mile away. I am not saying this with any prejudices….it is just hilarious when you go back through photos and look at the frozen positions of a bunch of white people busting it out. There is something very angular and awkward. Nothing “Stomp the Yard” about these moves. You can almost hear “The Electric Slide” coming through the photo. For the life of me, there is no way to escape “The Electric Slide” and the “Cha Cha Slide”…and truth be told…they really do get people on the dance floor…but come on people!!!!!
I will say with utmost confidence, I know this song is several years old, but I love “HEY YA” still! That is such a happy song and so easy to dance to and if you are really good, you can even clap on cue.

This Friday was Kristie’s wedding….and the angels rejoiced. I don’t think I have ever heard more whooping, hollering and clapping crescendo to a frenzie then when they were pronounced husband and wife. It has been a long three years, but man was it worth it! I got to finally BE in a wedding, not shoot it. Ryan was still the photographer, but at least at the reception we got to dance together which was so fun.

The problem was my dress decided to attack my ribcage. Half-way through the reception I realized no amount of adjusting could relieve the pressure around my ribs. Maybe it was the glutenous way I went through the buffet…but I could not take a full breath. I finally had to change into my regular clothes, which I am kicking myself for not putting more thought into the outfit I came to the church in. I had a skanky gray tank-top and rag skirt….so most of the pictures of me from the reception are not in my pretty dress, but in my mis-matched outfit. Oh well!

For those of you who saw the movie “Hitch”…you know at the end they play the song, “Now that we’ve found love what are we gonna do” ( I don’t know if that is the official name) This is the part in the wedding reception where we separate out the ladies and gents to different sides and then in pairs you make your way down the line doing some sort of coordinated dance. For me, I get REALLY anxious about such unadulterated attention. I mean I can shake my money maker, but I prefer to do this on a VERY crowded dance floor. Ryan and I were searching for the perfect dance. (Not to be mistaken with the perfect cheer)

You know this is true..you better be REALLY REALLY good or REALLY REALLY goofy. Don’t be mediocre or you get the weak “whoooooo” called at you by the crowd because they kind of feel bad for you. WE decided to go the goofy route and play up what we knew. Ryan would just photograph me going down the center dancing all crazy for him. So here I am….go white girl! Contrary to the affect on the photos, I am 110% sober!

This move is from two movies: Kill Bill 2- Where she plucks that chics eye out or a less gorier version can be found on Blades of Glory….the bird.

This is the move where I show my dominance on the dance floor by flaring my nostrils and sticking my chest out. Some may mistake it for a mating ritual, but really it is just me being ultra cool.

Now this shot, wow, this is where I am saying to Ryan, “OOOOOOOHHHHH Man, I am killing it on the dance floor! Do you see how jealous everyone is of me?” I said this with modesty, of course.

Our last shot on this tour of wonder is my bad as can be face. You might want to add a little head bobble in for extra flare.

Don’t steal my moves! I know them all by heart and will be forced to have a “Dance Off” with you if I catch you doing them.

And here is the beautiful bride:

If you would like to see more shots of Kristie’s bridal portrait session last month, we can now release them. Ain’t she purdy? You can hardly tell that is was 95 degrees and there were about 30-40 crickets inside of her dress the whole time.

I have to say peeps, I am really enjoying not blogging much lately. I may be slowing my posts for a bit. There is so much going on with our business, my new nephew was born yesterday and we have tons of company coming in this weekend. This is why you should get Bloglines! It will save you tons of time checking in. If you don’t know what it is, go….sign up, it is 10 times easier than setting up a blog and will save you SOOOO much time once you subscribe to your favorite blogs feeds. What are you waiting for…go!

Starbucks and Hollister

Published by Kelly August 24th, 2007 in Confessions. 19 Comments

So I used the word vacation and immediately you pictured somewhere glorious! Now if I were taking a real vacation, don’t you think I would have shared that with you? I only went to my parents house for 3 days for some serious R and R. I hardly got dressed let alone went anywhere picture worthy. I did get to sleep in, eat amazing meals and go shopping by myself!!!!! Like to a real mall!!!!

So here are two of my adventures…thus the titles. One I am ashamed to say was a complete and utter dumbass move on my part.

First…Starbucks. I am declaring the next generation the “Starbucks” generation. I know you see college students in Starbucks across America…but the next generation won’t know life without Starbucks. This was the conversation in front of me by two girls that didn’t look any older than 11, all by themselves, sporting some serious booty shorts.

1st girl-”Oh my gosh, like I am totally wearing my BCBG Jeans to school first day”

2nd girl-”Oh totally, they are so ridiculously cute on you…what top?”

1st girl-”Like, I don’t know, I have this long sleeve purple Hollister top, but like, I don’t know about long sleeves in August, like you know?”

Starbucks guy (who is like 60)- “Can I help you.”

1st girl-”Yeah, I will have a light vanilla bean with soy milk decaf.” “Oh and whip cream…lots of it” (giggles)

2nd girl-”I will just have a coffee” (YOU’RE ELEVEN!!!!!!!!!!!)

1st girl-(whips out a Starbucks card)”Yeah, like can you tell me what is left on this.”

Then they go over to a table to wait and continue their asinine conversation about 50 decibels too loud so we could all, like, hear, like, their, like, conversation, like, that was so, like, interesting. I know this makes me sound like I am 75…but I just don’t remember at 11 being dropped off at a huge outdoor mall with my friend, with money, walking into a coffee shop and ordering coffee with my butt hanging out of my shorts, talking like I grew up in the valley. I don’t know….call me crazy…but this does not settle well with me having a daughter of my own. I just want to line up all their parents and whack them across the face and tell them to get a freaking clue and LOVE on their kids and spend time with their kids….LIKE now, like okay, like freaking okay?

Okay, now on to my confession. GULP. I will straight up admit I am clumsy…wicked clumsy…but I would not call me ditzy. At least that makes me feel better. I mean we all have our moments but clearly when I walked into Hollister and was assaulted by CRAZY LOUD music, five gallons of cologne up my nose and feeling like I was in a bat cave with all the dim lighting….I lost my mind!!!!

I was trying to be a thoughtful wife and look for jeans for Ryan. Have you ever tried to find a 34 X 36 jean. It is like finding the arc of the covenant. There is a prejudice against tall people and it must be stopped. We bought a few pairs of khakis there last year that were the right length, so I was hoping to score some jeans for cheap. The very very helpful 17 year old summer worker went and made a special trip to the backroom to look. He then brought me the most lovely stack of 36 X 32 jeans for me to look through. For a moment I wondered if it was a joke. I mean he does work at a clothing store and he is a guy…so he…much more than me…should know that the first number listed is the waist size and the length is the second size. We had a whole conversation before he went into the backroom about how tall Ryan was and how hard it is to find a 36inch LENGTH! So I politely pointed out the mistake and he just kinda walked away and said sorry. Go back to highschool genius…also, so glad you can’t drive after dark!

So like you remember the coffeeshop girls right, like right? Well as I was so hardily laughing at their ditzy expense, I was only setting myself up for my class-A airhead move. As I was paying for a shirt for Ryan, I somehow didn’t realize that the debit machine was right in front of my face.

Again…MUSIC, COLOGNE, BAT CAVE…lots of crazy stimuli all around. So I glance about 3 feet to my left and see one and think, “weird, it is so far away”….I move my purse and my coffee about three feet away from the register (big line behind me) and I swipe my card. Nothing…black screen….hmmmmm…swipe, swipe.

Then I look back at where I was standing and low and behold a debit machine appeared out of nowhere. So I humbly pick up my purse, coffee and bags and move three feet back over into my original spot. (starting to slowly sweat, feeling stupid, want to disappear). So then I swipe, swipe, swipe, swipe. NOTHING.

Now I am handy with a debit…what in the world! Well that is because smarty smart pants 17 year old didn’t push the button so I could swipe. So I stand there with my card ready. We finally complete the transaction and I then slide the three feet to the left of the counter again to consolidate all my bags, put my debit card away and get my coffee situated when I spot a sampler cologne and a stack of Hollister cards to spray.

Me thinks to myself, “Hey, I should spray a card and throw it in with Ryan’s shirt so it smells all nice.”

So I grab a card, think to myself again, “Dang, these are thick cards, almost like plastic or something…weird way to test cologne.”

I spray a few squirts, tip the card up to drop it in my bag when I notice the backside of it looks like a credit card. Oh no my friends, this was no tester card, this was a stack of gift cards that I just picked up, sprayed, and am dropping into my bag. WHO DOES THIS?????? I didn’t have the guts to just leave it. I chucked it into my bag, made eye contact with NO ONE, and like, left, like as fast, as like, I could.

Karma….