Tuesday, January 6, 2009

One hour and forty-four minutes


Yup. That's how long I endured Carson's crying this evening before he finally went to sleep. Don't worry - I didn't just ignore him. I checked on him every 10-15 minutes and tryed soothing him by giving back his pacifier he'd spit out and humming two verses of "I Am A Child of God." Let's just say he wasn't interested in either of those, and just screamed even louder! Now I'm exhausted and ready to sleep myself! I am quite surprised I didn't give in by picking him up and rocking him to sleep (which is what we've been doing for several weeks now, and even that method is met with resistance). But I told myself that we have to have a better sleep schedule so that I can actually function better each day. For the past 3 months now, I dread every morning because while Danny is leaving for work about 8:20am, I'm usually crawling back into bed trying to get some more sleep after dealing with Carson all through the night...okay, and from all the day before too...and the day before that :) Then when the Little Man wakes up, I anxiously await for an hour or two to pass for when he'll fall asleep again so I can go back to bed too! I'll be honest and say I'm not very productive before 1pm. Unfortunately, Carson's daytime naps tend to be only 30 minutes long (although all the books say they should be about 1-2 hours!), which doesn't give me anytime to get things done around the house. And then by the time I do actually lay down, it's only a brief 10 minutes later he's crying and awake and we start all over again! So it's time to kick things in gear, and start off the New Year with some good habits :) Hopefully tomorrow night will be less crying.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Photography

A few of you have been leaving some nice comments about the pictures I've taken of Carson, so I thought I'd explain how I got into photography.

I've always been interested in it for as long as I can remember but never really had the instruction or money to actually become serious about it. Back in 2006, my good friend Joe C. was needing some help with the weddings he shot, so he asked me if I'd like to (really) learn how to use a DSLR so I could help him. I was very excited about this opportunity so I ended up buying a used Canon 20D and Joe let me borrow his extra Canon 50mm f/1.8. It was the cheapest setup at that time without sacrificing the quality of the shots (ie - not having a cheap camera and cheap lens).

Today, I do weddings on the side as well as any other needs a client has. My humble website is http://www.finetunedphoto.com/ where I have all the pertinent info about me and a small gallery of shots. While I keep things strictly business on that website, I do update a small gallery of personal shots I've taken. That secret URL can be found at http://www.finetunedphoto.com/misc/. I made this for myself so I could easily pull up galleries, but anyone can see it. In there you'll find a lot of cool shots from things like our Tahiti trip we went on back in May 2007 as well as Washington, D.C., just to name a few galleries. Photography is not my career, but it is a hobby I enjoy and hope to continue to develop and improve on.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Do you shop Amazon.com?

To all my friends and family out there, I am making a special request. If you are ordering from Amazon.com will you please click on the below link before ordering? The charity I am involved with, Love Without Boundaries, gets a percentage of your sales if you go through their website. Once you get to the Love Without Boundaries site, look at the bottom right side of the page where it says "How To Help." Click on "Shop AMAZON.com" to get started! Or I'll make it really easy for you and provide a link right here: Shop Amazon and help Love Without Boundaries

Thank you! Every little bit helps, more than you know. And if you want to see some of the faces you are helping, these are some pictures that bring a smile to my face.

This is a group of babies in an orphanage. Look them all standing up in their cribs - like they are ready to start dancing once someone turns on the music :)


This is little Gracie, and she is just beaming. The pigtails and double chin crack me up!


The dimples on this boy are so adorable. The fact that he is also missing an eye and half his nose doesn't seem to bother him because he's just smiling away and loving life!

This group of orphans just received new shoes and they are showing them off! I can't believe how well-behaved they are to sit there all in a row, not moving an inch. And I love how the girls in the back all have the same haircut. Don't you just laugh when you see that?

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Little Man Next To Christmas Tree

It's been a while since I took some pictures of the Little Man, so I laid him down next to the Christmas tree and used that as my light source.












I hope you like them.

Monday, November 17, 2008

If you are ever having a bad day...

Maybe this video of "misheard lyrics" will make you laugh and cry as much as I did tonight!

Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter

Carson does the "Numa Numa" dance

I was recently introduced to this video and had to laugh out loud. Yes, I may be a little behind the times since Wikipedia says this video was released in 2004. Needless to say, the song was stuck in my head ALL DAY LONG for several days. I couldn't get it to go away, which ended up being somewhat torturous. No amount of singing "I Am A Child of God" helped either... *sigh* And can you believe 22 million people have watched this video?! He's not embarrassed about it either.



Then while doing some playtime with Carson, I decided it was time to introduce him to the "Numa Numa" song as well. He caught on fast!

Ma-ia-hii
Ma-ia-huu
Ma-ia-haa
Ma-ia-haha!
(Repeated 4 times with increasing intensity)

Hello?

It's me - your Duke!

Numa Numa hey!


And for a little YouTube fun, these are the "misheard" lyrics of the song. Enjoy!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Carson meets the Wiener dogs

When we brought Carson home from the hospital for the first time, Shelby and Royce weren't too sure what to think of him. You can hear little "squeaks" from Royce because he's uncertain, and Shelby barks a little when Carson makes a noise or moves. Yes, I am the protective mother who wasn't sure how the dogs would react, so I was being on the cautious side with my orders.



Things have turned out great since! The dogs have never shown any aggression towards Carson and are still a little curious when we bring him home in the car seat or take him out of his swing. Boy will they be in for a surprise when he starts crawling on their level :)