2008 February archive at Filtering Life

Archive for February, 2008

Big fat baby

Published by Kelly February 26th, 2008 in Adventures in Pregnancy and Bennett Wade. 32 Comments

No not me, although I have taken whining to an all new level over the last few months.

I went in today for a regular OB appointment. Same song, same dance….pee in this cup, take your blood pressure, weigh you (gag…only 1.5 pounds in 3 weeks…yeah!)

Chatty chat chat with Dr. Baker. Love him! Tells me a funny story each visit. This one was about women who take phone calls in the middle of vaginal exams. Helloooooooo…..a man has a metal instrument or hand in your holy of holies and you are taking calls from your husband and realtor’s and tell the doctor to continue like normal. Geesh…..even too much for me!

Next up…measuring the fundus. How great is that word…FUNdus? Sounds so much dirtier than it is. Any of you scratching your head, the fundus is the measurement from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus. It is suppose to measure in centimeters the exact number of weeks you are carrying. Get it, got it, good.

Anyway, I am technically 30 weeks 4 days today…so I should measure between 30-31 cm. HOWEVER…..I measured 34 cm. Like 3 and a half weeks ahead….like almost a MONTH bigger.

Dr. Baker: “Hmmmmmm……weird.” ( remeasures, checks my file.)
“You are measuring really far ahead. Three weeks ago you measured 28 weeks.” ( do the math…..34 minus 28….6 weeks should have passed…..I know, you didn’t think you were going to have to use your brain for this)

MMMMMkay….what does that mean? Well basically, I come back in two weeks and if I am still measuring that far ahead then they are going to give me an ultrasound and see what is going on with him. Obviously, it wasn’t that I had this massive weight gain, it is all him….but I just don’t know what this all means in the long run. Chloe was completely average in weight and slightly tall at birth. I was an average baby, a little short. Ryan was a big baby, over 9 pounds and 23 inches long. Can we say almost two feet of baby!!!!! I will take long legs any day over a big noggin or broad shoulders.

Could this be us?

I mean kinda cool to think I could shave a whole month off of third trimester…hello…less weight, backaches, peeing incessantly.

BUTTTTTTTTTTTT

Does this mean a c-section could be in my future? I am really really not cool with that…at all. Plus the quicker Bennett gets here the quicker my life goes a bit wacky with have two little ones to care for. (biting fingernails nervously) For heavens sake, today is the last day of construction. Our bathroom will be finished TODAY!!!! We are on week 8 of all the construction and now we will finally have our house to ourselves but we have tons of cleaning and painting ahead of us. I would really really love to enjoy my house and time with Chloe before the next storm of change rolls in.

I don’t know. I don’t want to borrow trouble…I mean it could be nothing or it could be some difficult choices in a couple weeks. I know he isn’t going to shrink. So when I go back in two weeks and will be 33 weeks, I am just praying he still measures 34 weeks so there isn’t a big difference and things progress as normal. NORMAL…what a relative word.

So any mom’s out there have a similar situation? What happened? What were your choices? Encouragment?

So what do you think….is this a 30.4 week belly or 34 weeks?

and a blurry self-portrait. It is impossible to get a sharp shot standing on a chair with a heavy camera in one hand.

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Case of the Mundays

Published by Kelly February 25th, 2008 in Chloe Grace. 14 Comments

Chloe…tell them how we feel about today.

No, don’t hold back…tell them how we REALLY feel.

That’s better. You’re a girl, you are allowed to emote when you need to.

Actually, I forgot all about these pictures I took on Valentines day. We were playing in her room. She was still sick at the time. So the girl who never cries got a wee bit testy with me when I was wiping her nose for the gazillionth time that day.

This is what I do all day. Watch her tear up her room and chase her around with the camera in my most annoying voice, “Chloe, look over here, Chloe…where is mama? Chloe look at mama? Chloe, Chloe CHLOE CHLOE CHLOE.” No wonder she hardly actually looks at me. Screw you mama….I don’t give out the vibe for free.

Checking her mailbox for fan mail. Nope…no takers.

Making sure her car is gased up and ready to roll out.

Seeing that baby is fed and clothed. What a good mommy.

Checking on the neighbors dog. She likes to pound on her window and bark at him excitedly…very cute. FYI, her hair is not dirty, just wet. Mommy can look like pond scum skanky…but Chloe can not.

First time ever looking directly at the camera, but it looks like she is constipated. Not her real smile.

Drinking in the sunlight….

In other world news: the child is finally speaking! She has showed negative 10 interest in talking. She does sign language and animal noises, but Lord knows she could care less about her ABC’s. She has a great working vocabulary, you can talk to her in full sentences and she understands everything….but alas…nothing. All of a sudden…WORDS! The most adorable, low, raspy voice has rumbled up from inside her and I can’t get enough.

My favorite is how she says mama. It is Mehma.
Second only to her signing, “All done/gone” and saying….”All go” her little lips pucker out so far with the “o” sound I want to eat them off her face. If adorablness could go the next level..I just saw it.

Okay, time to go take advantage of no bathroom construction and bathe my child. May your monday not screw your face up like Chloe’s 1st picture.

Is everyone pregnant?

Published by Kelly February 21st, 2008 in Adventures in Pregnancy. 30 Comments

They say things come in twos and threes…I beg to differ. I am simply surrounded by friends who are pregnant. These are not mere acquaintances, these are very good girlfriends. The wind is blowing in the right direction around these parts.

The first of the domino’s to fall was my friend Jackie who birthed one of the prettiest baby girls I have ever seen on Monday afternoon. I mean Chloe was a cute baby, but she hit her stride later on. Lydia Grace, is a true beauty from moment one.

Look at that hair and skin tone! I am jealous. Again…sending up my requests to the pregnancy gods for Bennett to have a massive head of hair or a killer mohawk like Chloe did.

Sigh…I can’t believe this is us in 10 weeks…holy crap!!! Just walking into the hospital was a serious reality check…this is really happening and nobody is getting this baby out of my belly but me. GULP!

Next up…Holli! I can’t believe you are all the way in Canada and we won’t meet your baby until August…so not fair! 18 more days Holl !!!! They actually have the discipline to wait and see what the gender is going to be. I wish I were that easy going, because it really is exciting to find out in the moment of actually meeting your child.

Then I have two friends due the end of April, including my internet buddy O Mama Mia. Then me, then my sister in law a week later and my other friend the end of May, one in July, two in August, two in September and one in October! I am sure I am forgetting someone.

I am going to be pumping out some serious taggies, burp clothes and custom onesies. Kelly classic gifts.

I already have 6 burp clothes I need to finish for Bennett. But like a mom with too much going on in the house..they are sitting on top of sewing machine taunting me.

So who else done got themselves knocked up? When are you due, how you feeling, what’s the gender, names picked out?

I am feeling the weight (no pun intended) of 3rd trimester and having a toddler. Not to mention all the poor decisions I have made lately to stay up late. Ryan and I got sucked in last night to TLC at 11:00pm watching “My Shocking Story” about a man who was half tree….like he had this crazy skin/wart disease that was turning his body into a tree with roots and knobs hanging off him. SURREAL and so so so sad that some people have to live with such debilitating diseases. It was grossly fascinating and we simply could not turn off the TV even though I was starting to get sick to my stomach when it got to the point where they shaved his thigh like a block of cheese to graft onto his hands. Ummmmmm…..that is so wrong on so many levels and you showed it on TV! I literally squealed and grabbed Ryan’s chest in horror. This did not help my raging heartburn.

Note to self…do not turn to TLC in the wee hours. GO TO FREAKING BED KELLY! So today I think I will actually take a nap. I am the worlds worst napper so we will see if I just lay there solving the worlds mysteries or actually fall into a deep restorative sleep. Send me napping vibes!

Corners of my home

Published by Kelly February 19th, 2008 in Home sweet home and Kellyisms. 11 Comments

Good morrow sweet readers. We are still recovering at Casa De Portnoy, you know the residual nose running all day long and the emphysema-like cough that rattles up from your toes. So both Chloe and I sound like we have been smoking since the beginning of time…but still we are in a MUCH better place than 12 days ago. AMEN.

So I am going to talk about something that makes me happy happy happy. Decorating! Many of you have asked me where I buy things or how I pick colors for my house. I am going to start out by saying…DECORATING IS SUBJECTIVE!!!! It is a form of art. Just like some can find beauty in a Picasso while others think it is a big ol’ mess…..so is decorating. I usually get two reactions to my color choices: “That is SOOOOO Kelly” or “I love it!” The first comment translates to: “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING…I would never do that.”

I am in no way an authority nor do I have “rules” to live by. I can only say how I make choices. If I have the means to own 5 homes I would decorate them in COMPLETELY different manners. I appreciate so many styles and color is seriously an aphrodisiac to me. Love it! I happen to have a husband who would love a 60’s mod home with all super sterile, streamlined furniture….screw comfort, give him funky style and architecture. I can totally appreciate his taste and try to incorporate some retro taste into my style.

I just walked around my house and snapped some pictures of either fabrics or nooks that I personally enjoy looking at. I do feel like a home should be practical, especially if you have kids…but I don’t feel like you need to sacrifice taste for comfort. I come by the philosophy of buying neutral furniture rather than trendy colors or patterns because furniture is MUCH more expensive to replace than decorations. I happen to get extremely bored with my house every 6 months and like to switch up my color pallets. Some people want to decorate once in their lives and NEVER decorate again. Tisk, tisk, tisk…live a little will ya!!!

Wait, I take it back… I have a rule: NO WHITE WALLS!!!!! Hospitals, school, work….all white walls. Are those your favorite places to be? HECK NO!!!! I don’t care if you pick linen white for your walls, show some stinking contrast with your moldings. People are SOOOO scared of color, but let me tell you….NOTHING will more dramatically change the look of your home and furniture for CHEAP, than a gallon of paint. You can ALWAYS paint over it if you hate it. I have picked some doozies in my time..but live and learn. IF you go out on a limb…live with it for three days in all sorts of lighting before you decide to change it.

I tend to use fabric to inspire my wall colors.

This is our evolving kitchen. I love this fabric and the green in the flower was my inspiration for the wall color:

Not everyone’s cup of tea..but I love it. I love all my red appliances and dishes contrasting it.

Better yet, frame some fabric and use it as art. Super cheap way to put punches of color up and tie in your pallet.

Pick a punch color and run it through all your main rooms. I happen to LURVE orange. It is fresh, funky and plays off of the earth tones of my furniture and wall colors throughout my house.

Fun pillow

New bathroom pallet

kitchen window, My Chloe bird that my very talented friend, Candace, made.

Don’t be afraid to mix unlikely patterns together.

Fill a space. Nothing irks me more than a person who has a huge wall and they put a tiny little frame on it. The proportions are all off and it looks silly. Also you are not suppose to hang anything on your wall higher than eye level. So take it down a notch! Don’t be afraid to group different height items.

Be careful of clutter. If it is a space you use often….skip the decorations. Clean spaces open up a room.

Use real plants, skip the fake flowers. I do have a couple of fake flower arrangements in my house, but they are more like “sticks” rather than flowers.

It’s a slippery slope in the fake flower world. I am a huge fan of sticks and curly willow ( see two photos above)

So let’s review a few points:

1- USE COLOR….don’t be afraid to paint your walls or pick a punch color and weave it throughout your house.

2- Stay away from themes: palm trees, asian, animals, etc….not timeless and borderline tacky.

3- Use fabric as art, in layers against each other, or to inspire a color pallet. Fabric is what set’s you apart and puts a unique twist on your house.

4- Fill your wall space in the correct proportions. Mess around with arranging your furniture to maximize your space.

5- Have a consistent style in your house. If shabby chic is your thing, don’t have the adjacent room decorated in modern decor. It is confusing to the eye.

Have fun with decorating. So many people are intimidated by decorating or don’t feel like they can do it. Lot’s of people have some great things laying around their house that just need to be rearranged. You don’t have to spend a million dollars on decorations and furniture. Most of my furniture is from Big Lots or dent and scratch stores, but I shoot for all real wood in the same stain so I can mix and match in my rooms. I am a HUGE bargain/clearance shopper for accessories. I know sewing does help because you can custom make pillows and curtains in fabrics of your choosing, but you can still get some great and affordable decorations at Target, even Walmart is seriously stepping it up.

I still stand by painting. If you can’t decorate, you CAN paint and that will transform your space!

That is my two cents. Take it to the bank and cash it in for all it’s worth.

LOVE DAY

Published by Kelly February 14th, 2008 in Our Biz-Nas and Photoganza. 19 Comments

Wow, you guys are awesome…way to swoop in and give your opinions and votes in 24 hours!!! We even consulted one of our fellow photographers who is from Lynchburg, but now lives in a much bigger, open-minded city. She understands the “conservative vibe” of this area but also our photography style. Thanks Amy!!!

After much debating and even prayer….YES…God DOES care….we have decided to go with:

DRUM ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Soiree’ Ad

Now you may look back at the voting and comments and think….UMMMM…didn’t the majority vote for E? Yup, you are right about that. The majority of you did. It does have the most “mass” appeal. I mean we LOVE this photo, it is the shot we have on our postcard business cards…so we hand it out all the time…BUT…BUT. There are a few schools of thought we needed to be true to.

1.- We want to make a presence in this magazine. We want you to stop when you see the ad and go “whoa!” We also want to rule out anyone who would look at that photo and say…”I wouldn’t want a shot of me and my husband like that.” Great, there are tons of photographers that will give you a much more conservative and posed documentation of your day. That is the beauty of photography..everyone has their own style. We love to capture the RAW, unposed moments. We asked Sarah and Jeff to kiss…this was the moment we captured…and it is AWESOME. It is the passion that every couple should have on their wedding day.

2.- We will have one major spread of photos displaying our favorite “golf couple” showing the fun, classy, beautiful wedding that Kaely and Doug’s wedding was. We also have another article written about us with more of our photos and the publishers have a disk of images to use as stock images throughout the mag they will give us credit for….so we have tons of press in this magazine showing our scope and range. The ad needed to be a show stopper. You know when you flip through a magazine you rarely look at the ads, well I would say ours would catch your eye. Memorable.

3. We are about to make a MASSIVE price hike in two months when this magazine drops….so not only will we be separating the curds from the whey on our conservative style brides…we will also be gleaning a higher end clientèle. This is extremely necessary. God is growing Kellan Studios by leaps and bounds and we have been blown away by his provisions for us financially. I could never stay home with Chloe and Bennett and we certainly could have never afforded to move without God blowing our socks off with all the bookings this year. However, I also need my husband to be around more. So less weddings for more money is GOOD BUSINESS!!!! We are swimming with the big dogs now and we need our prices to reflect that and we need to be able to upgrade our equipment…..that ain’t cheap my friends seeing as we have to buy in duplicate…..Have you priced TWO Canon 5D’s……plus lenses and lighting? Keep it on the back burner…we will be selling one of our 20D’s later this year and holding on to one as a back up…anyone, anyone, anyone in the market????

So tonight I shall romance my husband with the sweet sweet cheesy goodness of homemade mac and cheese…thank you Donna at Spuddy Buddy…..I can’t wait to try your recipe!!! I am a painting fool right now getting the kitchen painted and parts of the bathroom. Don’t get me started…we still have no freaking bathroom. We do have a 95% tiled floor, a 20% tiled bathtub….progress right? So we still have to take baths….slow goings on baths! I mean tonight is Valentines Day…that means you do the “good shave”. I have a humongous belly and a little bathtub. The gymnastics are simply stunning if not incredibly comical! Wish me luck.

Ryan’s gift was a slam dunk for V-Day. I love remembering something he mentions and actually recalling it on the day I need to. I am horrible at being thoughtful..HORRIBLE!!! Can we say gift card queen!!!!

Anyway, what do you give any graphic designer nerd????? (If this is your husband…then go get these for him…he will love you!)

Helvetica Movie

The study of the typeface Helvetica. Yes, I have had my hand slapped plenty for using the word “font” and not typeface which he has explained to me eleventy billion times the difference, but my eyes glaze over and my brain starts smoking. Me no compute!

The runner up was non other than a Helvetica mug…oh yes…there is such a thing:

Helvetica Mug

But they have been sold out for months…..sadness.

My last runner up was this bit of nerdery office decor. This would have been great in Ryan’s office, but it is WAYYYY over priced.

Byte Russian Dolls

How funny are those?

Thank you again everyone who voted and commented, we really did evaluate each and every word you said and appreciate your input and enthusiasm. I will leave you with a quote from Ryan this week.

He walked into the living room and randomly said,