Bargain of the month!

This was how my front room looked on Friday.

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE a good bargain! Well I have been scouring craigslist and looking around for something to put our television and stereo into, with doors so that they could be hidden from sight, for a while now. The armoire we had before was beautiful, but it was old and rustic and one door had fallen off and James took the other off, before it fell off and killed one of our children.

So a week or so ago, I found a cabinet from Office Max, marked down from $249.99 to $24.99 (!!!), it is basic and functional, but new and would be delivered to our house, so how on earth could I pass that up? (In fact, I also bought one in dark wood for our bedroom and as a result, the shipping was even free - yes I was, and am, a happy girl).

The first one, in light wood, arrived on Thursday and as James did not have any (paid) work on Friday, it all worked out perfectly. I set him to work.

What a good little worker he is.

Both girls 'helped'.


Then Arran got home from school and joined in the fun.


Yes, that is my laundry, waiting to be folded, in the background.


Finishing touches. (A cute bottom, that I am rather partial to). A chained wallet, because you just never know who might be lurking in your house. The finished product.

Cousins

With so much of our extended family so far removed, often times I sense my children confused. They have the theory of grandparents, but the sad truth is, that there is not much reality there. They know that Grandma (my mom) is in heaven, but I overheard Arran the other day talking with a friend and saying that when he gets to heaven Nanny Pam (my dad's wife) will be waiting for him. There is no concept at all of James' mom and I think they just think that Grandma Betty must be his mom, not that they remember her either.

If only we had all the money in the world and could travel whenever we wished, sigh!

Some of my children's most favorite people in the whole wide world though, are their cousins. There is that true love and sense of family. It is so great that Arran and Bryttain both have a cousin of the same sex, very close to their own age and they all love Asia of course. We have been very fortunate in the last couple of weeks to have been able to see them twice and the kids have been almost beside themselves with excitement. Each day Arran would tell me he was so excited, because it was x number of days until he would get to see his cousins. He locks those dates in his head and holds on to them like a terrier with a rat. I dare not tell him of prospective dates until they have been firmed up and put on the calendar for fear of the dismay and anguish, should said date get canceled.

I am so happy that they at least have this concept of family.

Arran and Ireland, far too busy playing to stop and pose for photographs.

So we tried with the girls, who sat in place, but we ended up with a lot of out-takes!


Then Bryttain dared Michaelanne to call that cute boy down the street...just kidding, they're listening to music...just give it a few years though!

Where did the time go?

It has been a long couple of weeks! Whilst shooting the wedding a couple of weekends ago, I got a migraine (I had only ever had one before, eighteen years ago). That, I assume, combined with eight and a half hours of carrying much heavier camera equipment than I am used to, resulted in my somehow injuring my neck.

The first week I was a complete wreck. I could not even manage the basics and felt like my poor children (and husband) had been abandoned. It was as if my head was too heavy for my neck to support and I would constantly have to lie down to alleviate the pressure I was feeling. I was miserable. I went to see my doctor on the Monday, who merely prescribed medication for any future migraines, and by Wednesday I knew I needed to see a chiropractor; the migraine was long gone and the pain was definitely emanating from my neck and up into my head.

I am now getting crunched three times a week and today has been the first day that I have started to feel anything like my old self. I am very grateful! I truly feel like I lost a couple of weeks of my life that I cannot regain.

But now hopefully I am back.

This morning the girls and I had to run a couple of errands, and whilst we were at one of the stores Bryttain asked me to buy her one of the fake flowers. Well they were on sale for only $1 a piece and how could I deny her such a simple pleasure? The flowers, yes I also bought one for Asia, on their very long stems kept them entertained for the next half hour or so as they did everything from smell them to pretend they were horses and ride them! Once we got home I took them apart and attached them to headbands. I think it was $1 well spent, as my lovely model demonstrates.

My three

Saturday was a busy day for me. I was second-shooter at my first wedding and boy was it a long day. I barely got to see my three little munchkins which was heart-wrenching. To be able to see them, but not really interact with them was so hard, especially when they were so excited to see me and expected my attention. They all looked adorable and were so well behaved, I was one proud mama.

Here is one I managed to snap of them on the church steps, right before they left. I thought the red doors lent themselves to a slightly more colorful processing, so gave it a try.

And you can get a little sneak peak of the happy couple by clicking on my new photography blog, which will help me keep the family ramblings to a minimum...at least that's the current plan.