How do you fair?

Catalog Living

You HAVE to visit Catalog Living over at Tumblr. It is a riot! Basically, the creator/author (a LA-based actress, writer, and comedian) takes pictures from catalogs and puts a running, comical story to them featuring a couple named Gary and Elaine. I've never laughed so hard in my life! Okay, maybe that's a *slight* hyperbole, but I did laugh pretty hard. Definitely my kind of snarky humor.

Click the picture to visit.

Cuter by the Day

Drew - Twin Falls, Idaho - 2010, originally uploaded by The Shutterbugette.

Robby's 2nd Birthday

Even though Robby's birthday was today, we decided to celebrate it yesterday instead. It was a fun day, full of presents and sugar!

 First, we surprised Rob with a pillow pal Buzz Lightyear and a ton of Hot Wheels. He played with his cars all morning!

 While the boys were napping, I started making Rob's birthday cupcakes - Toy Story theme, of course. I used a special recipe lent to me by a friend, who was nice enough to share her secret cupcakes with me.

After the boys got done napping, we headed to Cher's, where there was a filled swimming pool waiting for him to splash around in.

Despite Drew's grumpy face, fun was had by all. I love this picture.

Nana (Cher) lighting his candle. He actually blew it out!

Frosting's best when it's blue.

We topped off the evening o' fun with a bubble gun and new Buzz Lightyear jammies (this was taken pre-jammies because he decided to jump back into the pool with his street clothes on). Also another favorite picture of mine.

This one's just for Grams. He loves the little vehicles you guys got him - especially the combine Gramps picked out for him! See how it's leading the convoy?

I really can't believe I have a two-year-old. It's sad and wonderful all at the same time. We are so blessed to have known this sweet little guy for two whole years now!

Happy Birthday Chronicles!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY CHRONICLES!!!

This mama's been bloggin' for two whole years, now! Trials, joys, hardships, births, sarcasm - this blog has seen it all! Here's to another great year of blogging!

Just for fun, go read my very first post.

Brownie Silk Pie Recipe

This is my new creation that I came up with. Basically, you take the crust and brownie part of the strawberry fudge pie recipe, but instead of cheesecake, you put chocolate pudding on top. Matt's not a big fan of cheesecake, so I was happy to make him this extra chocolately version. It really needed whipped cream, but we didn't have any, nor the funds to buy any (sad, no?), so we topped it with nuts intead. Yum.

A Hat-Lovin' Family

Well, except for me, I guess. I've never been able to find a hat I don't look dorky in, but my boys sure love them. I really don't think Drew has a choice in the matter, so I'm just going to group him into the bunch.

Rob decided that Drew needed to wear Daddy's hat yesterday. I don't know how Drew felt about that, but Rob and I had a good laugh.

Hats, Day 2. Today Rob was nice enough to share his own hat.

There's a new gang in town - the Bucket Hat Boys.

I managed to dig out this cute little hat that was once Rob's.

Ranch Chicken-Bacon Pizza Recipe

Before we get to the recipe...

If you're not drooling, there's something wrong with you. This pizza is SOOO good, I stuffed myself silly and regretted it later.

Ranch Chicken-Bacon Pizza

Crust:

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Toppings:

1-2 chicken breast, cooked and cubed
4-5 strips of bacon, cooked and cubed
1 6 oz. jar of marinated artichoke hearts (optional - I used these on another pizza a few nights before - YUM)

Sauce:

1 16 oz. container Dean's Ranch Dip
Hidden Valley Ranch, to taste and to thin a bit
garlic powder, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir in flour, salt, and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.

3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Mix together sauce ingredients and spread about half of the container (or to your liking) on to dough. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Pepsi Night at the Speedway

Sorry I have not updated in awhile and that this post is over a week late, but as usual, things have been crazy.

Last weekend was not only a holiday weekend, but I also had a wedding to shoot, a evening with two of my boys at the speedway, and a 4th of July BBQ to attend. We were kind of pooped by the time Monday rolled around. Thankfully, Matt had Monday off, so we all rested up in preparation for the week ahead of us. Before getting to the point of this post, I would like to say that the wedding went swimmingly. It was small and simple, so it made shooting it a breeze. If you would like to see some of the shots I took, you can skip over to my photoblog post by going here. I didn't shoot any of the fireworks this year. Frankly, after a whole afternoon of shooting the wedding, I was kind of tired of taking pictures. I know - it's a sin for a photographer to say that. It was nice just to sit with my little family and church family watching the spectacular fireworks that almost didn't happen (a big hub-bub over the 4th falling on a Sunday this year). It was a blessed time.

So - on to Pepsi Night. Since Pepsi is a big sponsor of the Magic Valley Speedway, one night in the summer all the employees and customers get treated to tickets and dinner. It's a major highlight for us, who are closet racing fans and hey - it's free stuff! It's always a lot of fun, but this year we decided to take Robby with us since he's finally old enough to appreciate it. And appreciate it he did! This kid goes coo-coo for all things vehicular - especially race cars. He didn't know what to do with himself when he figured out where we were.

This is the expression he wore for about the first hour. He would whisper "wow" everytime a car roared by.

My boys looking handsome in their hats.

Up close and personal with the cars. The driver in the truck right in front of them was nice enough to wave at Robby. Rob thought that was funny.

Up close and personal with Rob. We started to lose his attention at this point, but he stuck it out til the end.

See? Ear protection. We're good parents. Sometimes. I said "good". Not "perfect".

I love it when he wears his hat backwards. He only does it because Daddy does.

Nevermind the cars! Look! An ant!

If all else fails, buy the kid some cotton candy and then put the bucket on his head. That will entertain him. Or just you.

Here's an insane video of them blowing up an anvil. Next to the trailer races at the end, this was the craziest and scariest thing I've ever seen. 55 lb. anvil + 1 lb. black powder = 200 ft. of terror. This was the second time they blew it up, but the first time they used less powder, so it was *only* 100 ft. The anvil buried itself so deep the second time, they had to use a truck to pull it out. Crazy rednecks. We giggled.

Overall, fun was had by all and we stayed up way too late and ate way too much junk. It was a lot of fun having a Mama/Daddy evening with Rob - and he seemed to like it, too! A big thanks to Cher for staying late and watching the baby so we could go out!

Water Fight

The battle begins!

Plotting revenge against his own father. Very Star Wars.

Take that, Daddy!

Brutal battle tactics were necessary against the sworn enemy.

Beg for mercy!

Victory is mine!

Fight to the death!

Defeated...

...but taking you down with me!

Bubbles & Chalk

Rob was driving me bonkers, so I did what any good parent would do - I threw him outside! But after awhile, I decided to join him. We drew shapes and wrote our names on the porch with chalk, I blew bubbles for him as he chased them yelling, "Wait! Wait!", we wrestled in the grass, and then we had a nice big drink of cool water. I need to spend more time with this little guy. It sickens me that I don't, for one reason or another. I'm looking forward to spending some Mama/Daddy time with him at the Speedway this Saturday! Should be lots of fun, since Rob's never been there before! Pictures to come, but first, our time outside today:

There's a smile!

We were brushing up on our shapes, colors, and letters.

This requires something to drink!

I didn't get pictures of our bubble-blowing, but it's tricky trying to operate a camera and a bubble wand at the same time.

Three Months Old

Three Months Old - Twin Falls, Idaho - 2010, originally uploaded by The Shutterbugette.

It's been a rough three months, but I think we're finally starting to see the light at the end of our tunnel.

Carrying on a tradition, I took a similar picture of Robby with his Build-a-Bear around the same age.

Arguing With Myself

I'm holding my finally happy baby, staring down at him lovingly as he's cooing and smiling at me when a little argument starts up in my euphoric little brain...

Yeah, I guess I could have another one of you someday.

Wait. What? Did your brain erase all the trauma from your memory, you idiot?! Were you zoned out to your happy place a little too much for the last two months?! Do you recall the colic, acid reflux, screaming, screaming, and more screaming -- ring any bells?! And don't EVEN get me started on the pregnancy and the cost...

*twitch* Okay, obviously not RIGHT NOW. Way down the road. Like when Drew's two or so.

Somebody get the Raid -- she's been bitten by the baby bug already!

No, no, no! Definitely not right now! I'm just saying that I'm more okay with the idea of having a third child than I was before.

Yeah, you know that thing you got ten hours of last night for the first time in...oh, I don't know...FOREVER? It's called "sleep". You liked it, didn't you?

Of course. It was really nice.

Yeah, kiss that goodbye again.

Yeah, but it's only for the first couple of months.

Yeah, well...you weren't pretty without it for the "first couple of months", were you?

Good point.

Exactly. Still want another one?

...well, it's only temporary!

Oh! Like pregnancy, right?

Well, yeah...

Remember when you thought you'd be pregnant forever?

Yeah, I was hormonal and miserable, but...

Again, not one of your finer moments.

I know, but I was pregnant!

But you were M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E. Heartburn. Extreme discomfort. Peeing yourself.

You had to bring that up? Okay, okay. I know, but really...

Shall we talk about the bills that are still rolling in?

*doubletwitch*

Survive the first two years, pay off your tab, and then talk to me.

You're so negative.

You started it.

---

Why yes, I'm crazy. Why do you ask?

DISCLAIMER: Before you all freak out on me, NO - I do not want another baby already. This is purely for entertainment purposes. BUT I am more open to the idea of another child in the DISTANT future, now that we're on the other side of our hard times. For now.

The Many Faces of Robby

I couldn't pick just one!

Father's Day

This is Matt's Father's Day gift. I took the boys out one day for the pictures, printed it out, and framed it for him. It didn't turn out exactly how I had hoped, but he still liked it. What a sweet man.

I doubt I have any dads that read my blog, but Happy Father's Day anyhow!

Top 10 Things Ungodly Cultures Hate That The Bible Tells Men

A friend of mine posted this on Facebook and I had to share it. A must-read for Father's Day, found on a blog called A Wise Woman Builds Her Home.

Top Ten Things Ungodly Cultures Hate That The Bible Tells Men

1. Men protect women
2. Men are leaders
3. Men are responsible as heads of their families
4. Men are to teach their children 24/7
5. Men are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and be willing to die for them
6. Men are to be fruitful and multiply
7. Men do not own their bodies, their wives do
8. Men must bring up their children in the training and admonition of the Lord
9. Men must insure that their whole families and everyone else around them should celebrate the Sabbath
10. Mens hearts should be turned toward their children

--Scott Brown, National Center for Family Integrated Churches

Dear Mothers,

Are we helping our husband raise sons like this?

We know that this is our husbands role to teach our sons in that special way that only a way a father could and should.

However, the reality is that many mothers are home with their sons for the majority of the time.


Are we reinforcing what Dad is teaching throughout the week?

And...

What kind of sons do we see being raised in culture today?

"...It's Always The Crazy Times..."

*Channels Jars of Clay days*

Haven't a clue what I'm talking about? Don't worry. You're not missing anything. In short, it's been nutso lately. Chaotic. Insane. Non-stop. Go-go-go. The usual.

I thought I'd update and atleast let ya'll know we're still kicking. Even though I don't really feel like blogging right now, but I finally have a quiet moment to myself to do so. Better take advantage of it, right? Naturally.

We just came off a busy weekend at Church Camp. It was a completely different dynamic than last year; it rained the whole time, there wasn't as many families there, we had two kids instead of just one, and I had to leave for part of the time. It was just...weird. Fun, but weird. As expected, I spent a good amount of time indoors; although, so did everyone else because of the weather, it seems. But my excuse was tending to Drew, who did much better than I expected - as long as he was being held. He was one of three babies there, so we all kind of just played "pass the baby". It was Robby that was driving us nuts. As soon as he got his first taste of freedom and fun, he was a beastie from then on out. He kept grabbing whoever's hand he could (I coined it "hitchhiking") and tried to drag them outside. Atleast he was smart enough to remember he needed a big person to go with him. But still. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir on this, but I would look away for a second, look back, and he was gone. Out the door. Each time, I had to drag him back in full tantrum mode. It was pretty. Not really. And the first night was a bit of a mess, mainly because Robby was scared of the bunk bed he had to sleep in. When placed up top, he was scared of falling. When placed on the bottom, he was freaked out by the bunk above him. So, we used the tactic we always use with him when he's scared of something - we told him it was a robot. If Robby is afraid of anything, he'll automatically accept it if you tell him it's a robot. No matter how scared he is. No matter what it is. No joke. So, after that, he slept fine in his "robot bed". Other than that, Robby played and played and got lots of love and attention from everyone until he would literally pass out at naptime or bedtime. It was a little stressful having to tend to both boys at once - mainly because it required going up and down a very steep set of stairs to get to our room - but with the help of our church peeps, we survived and had fun along the way. Saturday was the weirdest, in my opinion. I had to leave early to go back to Twin (an hour drive from Albion) for a photo shoot, (you can read about how that went by going here) leaving Matt to take care of the boys and to the photography duties. Thankfully, he had plenty of help while I was gone, as I thought he might, and I was only gone for a few hours. We have the best church family in the world. Saturday night was the best, though. There was a big BBQ dinner for everyone, with the best pulled pork I have ever had in my entire life, provided by the church and smoked by a member of our church. We all stuffed ourselves silly with way too much food and then stayed up way too late and laughed way too hard while playing a couple of rounds of Mafia. We all came home absolutely exhausted Sunday afternoon. Always the case, but still definitely worth the time and money. You can view some of the photos I took on my photowalk I managed to get in here.

Things with Drew are getting better every day. He's finally becoming the happy baby we have been praying and waiting for. His screaming is few and far between and is non-existent most days. His colic seems to be lessening, only causing him to fuss a little before going to sleep in the evenings. I'll happily take fussing for a half an hour over screaming for three hours. He's still on Prevacid, only because I'm too afraid what will happen if I take him off of it. We did have the doctor switch to a cheaper alternative, Zantac. We have yet to see it's results, as we're just now to the tail-end of the Prevacid. I like the idea of the Zantac better not only because it's $40 cheaper, but also because it's in liquid form and he'll get two doses a day. I do notice that his stomach starts to bother him a bit in the evenings, as the medicine starts to wear off. He's doing extremely well otherwise. At his last doctor's appointment, when he turned two months, he measured at the 80th percentile for height, 90th percentile for weight. BIG BOY. Robby always stayed about average throughout his first year, only going over just a bit in height. (Could we have football players in our future?) The poor kid also got his shots at his appointment, but didn't react whatsoever. No fever, no fussing. He screamed at the initial pain, of course, but after he was over it, that was that. Perhaps it's the feistiness.

Robby is doing really well, too. When he's not driving us nuts, he is one fun little guy. Incredibly affectionate towards us and his brother, eager to learn and explore, and has the most infectious smile. And I can't get over how incredibly smart he is. Yeah, I know - all moms think their kid is bright, but really, I'm not being biased here. He is one smart cookie. He already knows a lot of the alphabet and regularly points out letters (or atleast gives it a good effort) on books, labels, and on TV. His attempts at counting are really amusing ("...two...two...three...one..."), but he tries. He came up to me one day, out of the blue, showed me one little index finger, and said proudly, "One!" Where he learned that, I have no idea. Thank you PBS, I suppose. He also will show off his myriad of sounds he knows (i.e. animals, vehicles, his brother crying, etc.) and his mad somersault skills. He received his very first Mr. Potatohead as an early birthday gift from Matt's parents when they were here. Yes, we had to tell him that was a robot too, but now they're best buds. It's really cute to watch him try and place the arms and eyes in the right spot, though they very rarely do and he ends up looking like a Picasso. I can't believe he's turning two next month. How did that happen? I have a two year old? Really? Two years I have definitely cherished, though. He's still such a blessing.

As I said before, Matt's folks were finally able to visit, only couple weeks after my dad and step mom were here. Have a baby and they will come. Both were very blessed, yet different experiences. Unfortunately, the time spent with my folks wasn't the best - not because of them, but because Drew was still really miserable. It was just before he was diagnosed with GERD, so we spent much of the weekend listening to him scream in agony. I wish things would have been different, but atleast we got to see them. They were an immense help with Drew and if that's all we got out of it, it was still worth it. I'm always so sad to see my step mom go - she's such a huge help! We spent most of the time at home, only going out a few times, but the most important thing is that my dad finally got to meet Drew and got to bond with Robby a bit more. Both were quite solemn when they had to part, from what I hear. The visit with Matt's folks was really nice; albeit short. We take what we can get. We still managed to have too much fun and eat too much food as usual. We ate out at our favorite restaurants, let the kids (and my mother-in-law, evidently) play at Hop 2 It, and just enjoyed one another. We were also sad to see them go, since we don't know when we'll be able to see them again. Traveling is difficult for both of us at the moment. We'll cherish the times we do get with both sides of our families, no matter for how long or the circumstances.

I've been very busy with my photography lately, definitely putting that expensive "toy" to work. After we bought it, we had Church Camp, a wedding, and vacation bible school scheduled to shoot, and then added on the shoot I had on Saturday and now a t-ball team in a couple of weeks and a bridal shower on Saturday. I can't say that I've made tons of money off of these opportunities, however - all the church events (the wedding included) were freebies. But that's not the point, right? Sure. Really, it doesn't bother me too terribly much. I'm enjoying just gaining experience and blessing others. I guess I'm just too nice to be a decent entrepreneur.

Wow. I wrote a lot for not wanting to blog. I'm such a hypocrite. Or perhaps I'm just lazy, but long-winded. Take your pick. Until next post.