HALLOWEEN!!

I was excited, first Halloween I felt he was old enough to enjoy and go trick or treating :)

Made him a pumpkin Mickey hat, bought him a Mickey Halloween coloring book, pumpkin sippy cup, bought him trick or cheesy mac and cheese, were planning on buying a pizza from papa murphy's which was shaped like a pumpkin. The pumpkin pizza didn't work out, which I was happy about cause I dont like him eating tons of bad food in one day, we ended up having to go out to dinner cause it got late/no nap, and he didn't want to eat before we left. So no pumpkin peeshe...

Ok I have to stop here really quick the word PUMPKIN.  He doesn't say it, if he can help it, and calls them "apples"  I seriously think he is messing with us though!  Sometimes he gets into the repeating everything we say game... say "I love you" "I love you too" say, "rain-bow" "wain-bow",  say "pump-kin" "app-le" as he gives us that serious look! Lol  On our walks (which we do almost daily)  he has been waving at the pumpkins saying "bye bye the apples"  But I have caught him off guard and he'll say "umpkin" (if you haven't noticed he likes to take the first letter off most words) :)

I wanted to make sure he napped and had a great Halloween, but of course, waking him up early, taking him to the park, taking him a bath, making sure he had a full full belly,  didn't work, cause it's always my luck the days I try to wear him out are the days he will not nap.  His dad and I have a problem, we dont sleep unless our eyes are pretty much sealing shut and we can't stay up any longer, he's way worse than us.  But I'm pretty sure he was just excited David was working from home, but I didn't think of that until after his nap, I should've had David do nap time with me, like he does on weekends.

It ended up working out!  He wasn't cranky he was awesome!  His costume was a HIT!  He got a few compliments on his costume (ok he got tons) But he even people saying it was the best/cutest costume they had seen all night. :)  they also got a kick out of him telling them "Thank You" or if I told him to say Thank you, he would tell them "Welcome" ha!

He's super social.  Every house took us at least 5 minuets, I wish that was an exaggeration.  He would invite his self into houses, sit on chairs, sit on or in-between people, or tell his life story, it's just his personality... but not one person seemed to mind, they just adored him.  he ended up with two or three handfuls of candy from each house as well as balloons and other stuff.  I'm used to it from places like Red Robin, or Party City where tables (like an older birthday person, just gives Declan his balloon, or party city acts like it's not as inflated as they like and say it's free, I mean we've even had servers (that weren't even ours come over) tell as we're lucky our kid is so cute :), and I'm not bragging or anything I'm just proud mamma boasting :)) but, neighbors we have never really seen just taking the time to talk to him (one guy trying to kid nap him) lol It was awesome, for him and as a parent.  :) I love my amazing little guy... now pictures... didnt take much from Halloween but here's some I haven't posted yet.

LOVE this

Train!

He loved this!

Done with trick or treating wanting his olli pops

Birthdays

Declan was actually due on David's birthday!  When I was pregnant I really wanted to give birth on that day, Happy Birthday, here's your first son! :)

Now, I'm very grateful to have a week buffer!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I'm in love with my little guy!  I'm also very much in love with my David, sure we're not perfect, but I'm lucky to have him, he's good to me and more importantly just as in love with Declan as I am.  (I've probably said that tons of times before, I know *gag gag*)  I'm lucky to have them both.

Well for starters Declan's first (2nd) birthday party didn't start out as planned... David and I tried to be super parents, spent 40 dollars on baking stuff for cup cakes for both parties, thought it would taste better and be like our first few dates :)  (I suggested getting to know one another doesn't mean going out but it's fun cooking together and talking/working together).... WELL I got the wrong measuring cup (mainly cause the dishwasher melted off the size) and put too much oil.  Well we did a pre-run with the home made cream cheese frosting (though I told David we needed to add oreos in the trial, he claims not to remember, it turned out well then, but adding the oreo crumbs made it lumpy).  So didn't look great, and the cup cakes didn't taste very good lol.  So my Mickey mouse oreo cake pops...... disaster.  I am patient, with kids, especially with Declan, baking, not so much.  I can if I really set my mind to it, but it was running late and was WAY more time consuming that I anticipated.  Do I think I could do them if I REALLY tried?  Absolutely.  But at 1 in the morn when we were starting them, I just was not in the mood to make it work.  I wanted it to be fast and quick lol, the ears were falling off and I know it was lack of patience, David even tried to make it work, but I was just not caring either way lol.  I just woke up early, called Fry's Bakery and ordered 2 dozen cupcakes, did the same for the next day, sleep was more important than coming off as supreme bakers lol. I was also proud of myself cause as David say's I get "too serious/stressed" when I plan things and they dont go how I want... I'm trying to ease up a lot.

The Mickey party went as smooth as I could have hoped for.  It was at Stuffington Bear, which is about 300 dollars cheaper than build-a-bear, but still fun.  I'm sure we could've skipped the tour, they're 2 year olds and dont really care, and it felt like a sweat shop in the sewing room.  I did like this party cause it was a few of my closest friends (with kids) I felt less stressed (though my son was out-of-control) and glad to have less chaos than the last party... on the flip side, I did like the simplicity of one party"getting it over" in one day, and kids of all ages, cause then I didn't feel like I left people out.  Next year I think I'm going to try the one party again...

Peter Piper Pizza is the Pizza People Pick!! That was the family party, there were not many more people and  some family bought some of their own food/drinks, AND it costs us more than Stuffington bear. I still dont know how that happened??!  Weird.  AND my kid was completely nuts there too many toys/lights/games.... the only gift he wanted was to take the trunki his grandma (Amma) bought him back to the play area (not that he didn't like his other gifts later, but at his party he was just not caring lol.  But it was still nice to see family :)  And I let David do most of the chasing :)

On his actual birthday we took him to the choo choo park!  Let him play there all day, napped then took him to texas roadhouse, since they do a cute happy birthday!  (the saddle declan loves horsies)

David knew what his present was, the new kindle paperwhite.  He has an ipad so he wanted this one to strictly read books that was convenient and light.  I think he really likes it :)   We ended up doing family time stuff and going to a few of his favorite places to eat.  As well as going to the Zoo which was more for Declan.  (We like going to the wildlife zoo cause it has a petting zoo and the aquarium)  He loved the petting zoo!  LOVED the OOH AH's (ooh ooh ah ah)  Monkey's.  At the aquarium he loved it as well, cause he wasn't in his stroller and could run around more (we let him run around a little in the zoo, but this kid is crazy, seriously... I didn't want them to think one of their animals got loose!! He kept pointing (at the aquarium) saying "what's that" but before we could tell him he was off to the next tank asking the same question.  It was a good day :)

Best friends

He kept trying to share his cupcake with Mickey! (Mickey was scared cause he has to get his costume dry cleaned if he dirties it! lol

YAY MICKEY

Gifts for Declan!

Hello again!  People are starting to ask (ok have been for a while) on what to get Declan... And I never really know what to say! Because we really appreciate anything you want to bring us, no matter how big or small and more importantly we're happy you came to celebrate with us!! Seriously :).  Thank you! Due to last year and there being so many duplicate presents, a few people even suggested me doing a registry for this year lol, I'm not doing that, but if you remember to get a gift receipt I would appreciate it! And I felt bad for the people that bought duplicates and looked disappointed, but that just means you got such an awesome gift someone else thought to get it too :)

He loves vehicles, BUSES, airplanes, cars, TRAINS (ask him to choo choo for you lol), Mickey, Yo Gabba Gabba, Doggies, stickers, books, peg puzzles, shape sorters. imaginative play stuff, like tools, anything he can take apart and put together!

He wears a 2t, I put a pretty big dent in clothing when I ran into a sale but it never hurts to have more!!!  Plus I'm a sucker for cute clothes!! ESPECIALLY cute hoodies lol

He wears a size 6 shoe but I would say go with a 7, cause he has plenty of 6 shoes right now and I'm afraid his foot is going to grow again and I wont have 7's lol... unless they're CROCS!! I got really disappointed cause I just bought him size 6/7 crocs and he can't use them cause they're too small. I thought he would love them cause he likes putting shoes on.  oh well.

We're taking him to toys r' us on his birthday to pick out a present, so if you cant think of anything to get him you can contribute to him picking out his own gifts!! I'll make sure to write you and tell you what he picks out!

But like I said we appreciate anything, and he's not picky at all, he got David's shoe box and puts his blocks and "top secret" toys in there.  Carries it around, empties it, brings it to us to play with him, and, that's just a shoe box, so anything is fine!!


More Specific stuff, that's probably more on the expensive side, so i'm not really expecting it, but if you happen to see a sale or something lol

scooter, potty, cozy coupe, plasma car, pillow rider (all things he has been eyeing, minus the potty lol)

Declan's "2" Pics

Hello!  Well this is only phase one, we have a special photoshoot we're probably doing on his birthday but it's "top secret" (ok I blabbed about it to a couple of friends) but it's kinda a surprise/present for someone close to Declan so we're keeping it hush hush :) (at least until is birthday because I dont think I'll be able to refrain from posting, I almost cried today just when we tried out the props/costume)

Ok now let me just say, I've been doing photography for quite a while now, and I will just tell you that adult and babies are so easy to shoot! lol  2 year olds are the WORST... It's not easy, they're at the stage where they don't understand bribes (Like if you sit still and smile you get a lollipop), they don't laugh and squeal at my little squeaker duck like babies do, and heaven forbid if you're trying to take them in a new place, they want to be independent, explore, and do what they want to do. This was def a group effort from David and I, lots of work, lots of time, and a shortage of energy after, but we were happy with our results!

I first have to say, this is a before and after of this pic, and I am getting way better at photoshop, watching tutorials is starting to pay off big time... this picture was my big idea, though it's not exactly what I was striving for it turned out pretty well, I love the banner, suit, balloons and scenery!!! Though the place was dirty and it was a little upsetting, I realized after a min of freak out that it added character, and he's a boy, what do I really expect!

This one is David's favorite, he said it reminds him of a western movie when they have the straw in their mouth, instead there is a lollipop:)

This one was all David's creativity, and I LOVE IT

He was having lots of fun with the balloons, kept letting them go and catching them

Seriously how handsome is he?

Still playing!! 

This one is my favorite!! 

Now for the sad part.....

I handed him a flower, he LOVES flowers, almost as much as balloons, but he let go of his balloons, and this time I couldn't catch them when he let go of them :(

David did a great job of capturing the emotion behind this traumatic and devastating time for Declan, but it was really heart breaking, he's not a big crier, he really hasn't ever known pain either, but he seriously looked like his little heart was broken :( 

We were done, my poor little guy!

ONE MONTH!!

This little guy needs a hair cut! But, more importantly, is 23 months old today!! This photo was taken yesterday at a photoshoot.  And believe me THE SHIRT SAYS IT ALL... Terrible twos seems like a generous term, and doesn't seem to encompass what really goes on in the lives of parents with a two year old.  It should be called something more like the "Apocalypse Year"...  I think the hardest part is there is no reasoning with him, or really any kid at this age, and I'm not the best at discipline, though I'm starting to do more time outs.  He's actually a great kid, I'm really lucky most days, but those times he didn't nap or he's mad at me cause he wants something... it can get pretty bad.  Right now he tends to run away screaming with his arms shaking around, but then he comes back in a minuet and is my good boy, it's ok for home, but when you have guest over or are in a store, not so much! lol

So I've been off the grid for a bit (AGAIN) yes I know, but first off Declan was very sick for about a month (July), random fever that lasted a few days, then broke out in a rash, we took him in and discovered he had an ear infection so they prescribed an antibiotic... Well... we discovered he was allergic to it, it was pretty awful

Declan's rash, it was hard not to rush him to the ER!!! But I tried to sit tight and wait for his emergency appointment.  The weirdest thing is it happened a day after he was done with the meds! On a good note the infection was gone and the allergy seemed to just be the rash, no respiratory problems or complications, but with two emergency appointments, lets just say I received my 210 dollar bill in the mail a few days ago so if anyone wants to give me money feel free to paypal me at robles.stephanie1984@gmail.com, I'll crochet you a hat!! haha

Speaking of crocheting I was super excited to start up a business on etsy! So for the whole month of August I was a crocheting demon, but I'm not sure I can handle it at the moment.  Right now, through friends/word-of-mouth, I've had a  pretty steady business where I'm not over whelmed (though I do charge friends way less than etsy prices, it's still good not to have as many restrictions as etsy would probably have, mainly time), I am thinking of readdressing the store after my boys birthdays!!

SPEAKING OF BIRTHDAYS (are you guys liking my transitions here) :)

Declan will be having TWO parties this year!! Woot woot! Though there are two parties it is way less stressful than last year!  I felt like I was on the show "My Sweet 16" for a one year old.  They should probably make a show for parents going crazy on their kids first birthdays! One of them will be at Stuffington Bear, it's mainly 1-3 year olds and their parents at this party, since you have to pay a package price, then a price of 20 dollars for each kid we go over it's much smaller, as well as it's not very long I think it's an hour or so time wise for the room and however long it takes to make bears.  It will be 6 kids (7 if you include the birthday boy) I bought all the boys tuxedo shirts (cause I thought it would be cute and found a really, I mean REALLY, good deal at The Children's Place) and a ball gown shirt for the one little lady going!  The plan so far is they make bears, eat pizza, and hopefully have a special surprise visit from MICKEY MOUSE!!  Declan still loves Yo Gabba Gabba, in fact I think it's still his favorite, but he loves Mickey mouse too, well mainly the "Hot Dog" song!

The other party will be for family at Peter piper, nothing big just pizza and family!

His actual birthday the plan is the zoo, maybe a trip to the toy store?  We'll see :) I'm pretty sure with 3 different days of being spoiled, ok ok ok he's always spoiled but it's 3 days of being more spoiled than normal, he's going to expect people to sing to him everywhere we go! ha!

As far as David goes, no idea what to do for his birthday, I feel I'm so focused on Declan all the time that he gets the short stick of my attention sometimes, so I want to make it special... hmm I'll have to think of something!! But at least the wedding photoshoot I did yesterday pays for his birthday present!

Speaking of weddings!!! hahahahaha just kidding just kidding

As I mentioned in the beginning of the post I did a photoshoot of a wedding yesterday, though complications arose (bride and groom being late and missing most of the best lighting for outdoor pics) I don't think it mattered, They were so happy and in love, you could see it in the pictures, and it feels so great I got to capture such a precious time in their lives! I also got to capture their proposal, they're such a cute couple, been together quite a while, though I know they look young, I have no doubt that they will be true to one another and are in it for the long haul.

That's all we have going on for now, I'm eagerly waiting a couple of clothing items so I can do Declan's "2" photoshoot soon, so stay tuned!

Birthday and other things

Update:

Well my birthday was good, I am at that age where it's just another day, but luckily I'm also at that age where I don't dread them yet! Got spoiled by David, Resi, and Davids parents,though I consider them family too, I love and care about them very much, and to see how much they love my son (I hear David in my head saying "our" son), and it makes me happy.  And if you're reading this, thank you (again) Tiana for the flowers and balloon, made me feel special.  And of course all the peeps on facebook for the wishes :).

Other than that, Declan is a parrot! This morning, as I'm changing a poo filled diaper, he stands up and I tell him "Seriously Declan" then he started saying "seriously seriously seriously". He's getting so smart and doing so many things at a rapid rate.  He argues with me like a teenager, I tell him "No", he says "Nooooooo", as he's pointing at me, I say "No, you no" and he says "No, YOU no!".  I'm sure the fun is just begining. But I'm ready for it, being a parent is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me.

As I hurry to finish up the wedding pictures I took I find myself wanting to look more "professional", I'm starting to realize a lot of photography is lost in photoshop, people go for more "glitzy" stuff and tend to like things that they can  do on instagram, or phone filters and such...  Which is fun, I'm not a fan (and that is only my own personal opinion), I like "real" pictures but I've succumbed... It's probably more I try to be anti conformist! So I've been watching many tutorials...
I think it's good though, one thing I love about photography, you're always learning, and I have a lot to learn...

I'm warming up to it, I do actually like how this turned out

Father's Day!

Father's day!

My little guy LOVES his daddy, and since he sees him less he will push me aside for daddy (which is probably his favorite word...daddy) It doesn't  make me feel too horrible cause once he's had his fill of daddy time it's back in mommy's arms he goes, where I personally think is right where he belongs!

The picture of Declan and his grill is significant cause that is what we got David for father's day (no smart. @$$ a real grill not a play one :)).  When I saw Declan standing on my elliptical waving at me I knew it was time to sell, and we used that money to get David his grill.

I also made paint and had Declan paint a picture frame for David.  (To learn how to make at home paint or just to see cute pictures of Declan painting Resi's peace sign picture frame click HERE)

It came out great and David thinks we have a little artist on our hands :).  

I probably should've posted picture of the finished product but sometimes, I'm just not so smart, so how about some more pictures of my little love instead?  But first I have to say...

Though we may not ALWAYS get along... and I HATE that he works so much, all the time and I never get to see him.... I LOVE David.  And he is a great dad, when he sees Declan, holds him, tells him goodnight, you can actually see love in his purest form., we're a lucky little family, to know and have such love.  

And as promised... more Declan!

How to make home made paint!

Ever worry this will happen with your little one

MmmMmm Paint

It's tough to find toddler safe paint, and even then there are still questionable ingredients... Well why not make your own it's super easy, and cheap!

What you need:

1 cup four

1 cup water

food coloring

paint brushes (optional)

and of course paper (or whatever you want to paint)

Paper plates, bowls, baby food jars... whatever you're wanting to put your mixture in.

Mix one cup of water with one cup of flour and stir.  Make sure you get all the lumps out.

Then separate X amount of mixture onto plates (I used bowls the first time, then half of it ended up mixed together cause he's 20 months old separation doesn't matter to him, so I went with paper plates for easy clean up)

Pour food coloring til you get desired color and... PRESTO baby safe paint!

The first time I did it I thought it looked too runny, so I added a little more flour, it made for great texture for the picture frames we were painting, it looked very artsy, but it can get clumpy, the recipe works a little better for just painting.

Here's more pictures of the FUN!!

Wedding!

So I have been absent... I apologize! You can see the reason I was HERE.

I have a lot of making up to do but I'll do it slowly. I will eventually post everything I promised, but a lot of events are coming up... father's day, my birthday, fourth of July, so I'll post them when "excitement" wears down a bit and I'm running out of things to post.  lol

Today (well yesterday) I did a photoshoot of a wedding (my first!).  It was LONG! haha

Well things pilled up, the priest was way late, my battery died (those who know me know I'm a planner but I didn't know I was actually doing it til a week before and there was no guarantee that the battery would come in time unless I paid 40 bucks in next day shipping...not happening... so I just took 30 min to charge while I took a "break" and stayed later.) It was stressful all around. Not to mention I left Declan with David and he's never watched him solo that long without me!

I do still have a lot to learn about photography.  I've seen better and I've seen worse.  Which is why what I charge is in the middle, it's very fair, gives me experience and give people good pictures... and maybe 1 or 2 great ones lol.

So in doing the wedding I was pleased I had a lot of great pictures!!  But then, cause of course my life is never perfect and will not be the same without any drama, I put the SD card in and BAM! I "lost" pictures!  I was near tears, barged in David's room and pleaded with him to fix it (I love him so much for putting up with me, but hey let's face it, I put up with him too)! He did find them, but after I remembered where my computer probably stored them (my comp did something when I put it in but I was too tired to care, but the realization hit me later).

So now a sneak peek

This one is my favorite so far, and they weren't even posing for me lol 

This one is unedited but I can't wait to work with it! Priceless :) 

And now I sleep... goodnight world! 

Absent

SO, first off I have to start with an apology!  I was so stoked to start a blog... even more stoked when I found out I had FOLLOWERS! My absence was due to being a little depressed.  Those who know me well know the situation... David worked for a company who decided not to pay us for a month and not let us know, until pay day, that money was not coming.  It would've been better if they would've fired him cause at least he wasn't working for them and not getting paid... he could've been working for someone else and getting paid!  I asked if they could make partial payments to us, they chose not to answer me, what makes me most livid is I see David's "boss" and long time "friend" that owes us the money posting pics on facebook doing expensive and fun things on vacation!! SERIOUSLY!  We had to cancel ours because any "extra" money we had was used to replace the THOUSANDS of dollars they owe us.  And now here we are EXACTLY where we were a year ago. 

Granted, giving his boss the benefit of the doubt I don't know if his vacation was paid for by other means...  I had had every hope that they would pay us eventually and it's slowly starting to diminish.  I'm not exactly sure how David feels about all this but I'm pretty upset.  We have a son to think of (if it was just David and I probably wouldn't have cared as much) and David always considered them family, he always said his (now ex) boss, was like a brother.  We asked his boss/friend/brother to be godfather of our son... which is a pretty big deal for me.  Even if they didn't have the money, though they had to have know way prior to this happening that they were going to run out of means to pay us, a heads up would've been appreciated... but again, even if they didn't have the money, something... ANYTHING (like diapers) would've been very much appreciated.  And invoices HAD to have come in by now.  So far I have seen no real concern, I feel like a "bill" they're dodging and like a collection agency.  So I give up... I don't hate them... just the situation that they put us in without really caring or showing remorse.  I still love them.  I just now feel I can't trust them, and I hate that. 

Maybe I divulged too much, but this is my blog and my feelings, so in other words "It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to!". 

Declan Pictures

It's not easy getting pictures of kids sometimes.   The biggest thing I always tell parents is full bellies (most of the time I offer to bring juice boxes and cheese sticks), a NAP, and I think the biggest thing parents aren't aware of is from the time they start walking until they're 5, a lot does depend on the parents with discipline and encouragement.  But if the kid isn't listening to you, how do you think they're going to do listening to me, the stranger?  I try squeakers, playing chase, talking to them, making goofy faces, but doing all that while trying to get a focused picture is not easy, and I'm still learning a lot.  I like when kids are at the bribe age (like pizza or ice cream after) cause they'll hurry up and give you great pictures to get it! lol I think parents think you should have a magic wand that makes kids happy, heck I wish I had the magic wand, but for some odd reason kids think photoshoots are the perfect time to have a meltdown.  


My kid is not the exception.  I always made a pact to myself that I will not bad mouth David lol so I will just say, he is not helpful, and thinks by me trying to get Declan to read a book in the grass and look up at me and smile, is controlling and not letting him have fun.  (I will not go there with what I REALLY want to add here but, let's just say I'm better off on my own taking pictures or having Resi help because Declan just loves her and she makes him smile BIG) Needless to say the pictures in the grass did not go well and I may try again after his nap.... but here are some shots that I took of him this morning. 

Man I love this kid

This is my favorite so far today

Mommy you're the silly goose.

Before you ask, it is not just cause he's part Mexican that he is so tan, we go to the park everyday, lift up the sleeve of his shirt and you'll see a little farmers tan! He's all white-boy (except at least he tans and doesn't just turn pink and burn lol)

Spring pictures!

This week I plan on doing a tutorial as well as giving a recipe for amazing turkey meatloaf that I created lol it's easy, cause as a mom I do not have time to cook gourmet everyday, but I like to let people think I do! (though I guess my secret will be out, darn)

Thanks for reading! 

Aftermath

After my "bad morning" I trudged through the rest of the day, I went to Resi's and got the phone that came with her plan before I gave her my old iphone, contacted my photoshoot client, and went off to the destination to take pictures.  And I'm glad I did!!

It was one of the BEST photoshoots I have ever had.  Pictures turned out really well, but above all I witnessed the proposal of a really really sweet couple.  We had tons of fun and I got awesome shots, over all it was a great experience.  

There were two family's at the park, it was a double photoshoot and they had the parents in waiting around hiding behind trees waiting for the proposal.  (all of those photos are candid except for the bottom one, it was the actual proposal).  There was also the sweetest little girl in her tutu and umbrella named Neveah (Heaven backwards) 

Overall a great photoshoot!

Now the aftermath of that was I was nauseous  and dizzy, perhaps from not eating much or from the Benadryl or a combination of the two... I went to bed that night scared to what I would wake up to in the morning.  To my surprise (and relief) I was dramatically better.  

Bad Morning

So "bad" morning to me seems like an understatement.   I've never been the "why me" type of person... never, not once.  I'm pretty much easy going, some call me the eternal optimist, and I pride myself on it. I'm not a big complainer, with close friends I may "vent" a bit (I have to consider you a close friend to vent to too because I dont like my business out there), but I never say words like "I hate my life" and I am ever in any way shape or form ungrateful for the things I have. I've survived a lot of terrible things ie: mom dying, grandma (i still miss her and it's been years and years), my grandpa collapsing in front of me (calling 911 giving him CPR and always stuck with the feeling if I would've done things differently, faster, better, would he still be alive), running and getting hit by a truck (a silverado to be exact, those things are not tiny and the cartoon-like imprint of a Stephanie size shape making up the dent on the hood, laughable now, but anything but that then, followed by having my first seizure, peeing my pants....)... so yeah there's been a bit of "hard times".  Some how I still remain have remained an optimist....


That being said I have had a "bad" morning.  So, again if you know me you know I'm allergic to all types of bug bites and have sensitive skin.  Most of my friends have never seen this side of me, David and I have been together for 3 years and he's never seen this side of me.... until today.  Yesterday what started off to me as "concern" (i say it that way cause I actually wanted to go to urgent care then, I know my body and had a feeling it should be dealt with), there was a little "bump" on my eye I felt but david couldn't see (this was all while we were out to eat at a restaurant).... then I felt my other eye and felt the same thing, in the same spot.  Then I randomly started feeling itchy in various places and we noticed more bumps, this time visible to David, by the time I got home I had them in random various places.  They didn't really raise red flags even though I still felt I should go in, I took an allergy pill, showered, went to bed hoping everything would be ok in the morning.


Was I ok this morning?  NO, I AM NOT!  But thank you very much for asking.  What IS going on is now my eyes are swollen, my minor "bumps" have swelled up, I have more swelling (is there there a better word I should be using to describe severe swelling?)  in all the infected areas. About 30% of my body is red and swollen!  We ruled out bed bugs, and it seems I'm having an allergic reactions to dust mites from the restaurant.  I feel icky, and itchy, as well as I look like a leopard!!


So if you're thinking I should take pictures and post... well that sort of thing I would use my phone for, but since I decided i should wash my bedding and didnt see my phone that was hiding in the sheets, it is now washed and not use able.  I normally would wait it out, see if it will start up after the nice "bath" it just took, but I cant cause I have a photoshoot.  I would just message the friend who got me the photoshoot and ask for their number and use David's phone to just verify when they're there and such, but when I went to her page I saw a friend post on their wall "I have your phone" which probably means I'm S.O.L. How's that that for a cherry on top?  Lol after writting all this my mood is slightly better, and since the time is now 11:55 I decided to keep my optimistic attitude and hope for a better afternoon and hope, this too shall pass.


I really hope anyone who took the time to read this had a better morning.


  

How to make hamburger cup cakes!!!

What you need:

* yellow cake mix

* brownie mix
(and of course the ingredience listed on the back of the boxes, milk, eggs, oil...)

* shredded coconut

* green, yellow, and red food coloring (unless you cheat like I did and used the  pre made frosting that is already colored, if you use that you need red and yellow frosting, but you still need green food coloring)

* Frosting (if you didn't use the premade ones I did, I suggest buttercream or cream cheese, so I didn't have to buy red or yellow food coloring or worry about not getting the color the color I wanted)

* small circular cookie cutter

* seasame seeds

* squirt bottle of water

* zip lock baggies (only needed if you didn't buy the pre-made frosting)


(This all can get pretty pricy about 25 + dollars give or take and about 2 hours but if you have fun and they're a hit then it doesn't cost that much to make more for the next time :) I encourage home made cakes, brownies, frosting, I just dont have the time to invest as a mommy of a needy little boy to do that lol)

Bake brownies according to the box, I suggest following the instructions for the 16" X 9" instructions.  Because you're going to need to use the cookie cutter to make the "burger patty" and you're going to want it to yeild as many as possible.

Bake the cupcakes according to the package ( I suggest leaving it in a couple min past the suggested baking time, to brown the top of the cupcake so they really look like buns... remember brown not burn, you also dont want them dry, so 1-2 min should do the trick, I usually have the oven light on to watch them)

let them cool off for 20 (ish) min.

While you're waiting for them to cool off get 1 1/2 cups of coconut and mix it with a few drops of green coloring, keep adding coloring until you get the color you want your "lettuce" to look like!  I loved the deeper green personally

If you decided to make your own frosting separate it into two zip lock baggies, mix in the food coloring until you get what color you desire for the red "ketchup" and yellow (either "mustard" or "cheese")

Now lets get to work!!

use the cookie cutter to make the "patties" try do do them as close together as possible so you can get as many as you can.  If you dont have a cookie cutter I think it's fine because I got the brownie peices that were left over and balled and smushed them into patties, to me they looked more authentic, but some people like the "pretty" and uniform aspect of things.  Just make sure you have something to measure so they're all approximately the same size and thickness of the patty.

cut your cup cakes in half (I placed them on a separate cookie sheet) I had the "patties" on one cookie sheet and the "buns" on the other. You dont have to do this it just made it easier to grab them

If you're using the zip lock baggies, a tiny piece of the corner of the red baggie line the bottom bun with red frosting

add the "patty" to the buns

then cut the bottome of the yellow baggy then add "mustard" or "cheese"

add your shredded "lettuce"

and place the top of the "bun" on the cupcake

now spray a mist (if you dont have a spray bottle get a bowl of water and lightly wipe water on the buns) then sprinkle the seasame seeds on top...

there you have it, hamburger cupcakes... nom nom nom :)

Sorry if I knew I was going to write it out I would've had more pictures then just the finished product.

New Years Resolution

So back at the begining of the year my Bestie and I exchange our resolutions.  (cliche I know but bear with me, it does have a point) Mine were to lose weight (another cliche), actually learn to read and write crochet patterns, get my website going for my business and advertise in the neighborhood paper in hopes of having a steady flow of business come in, and to keep up with a blog.  Well I have lost a little weight just by walking Declan (my son) to the park everyday and trying portion control, I really do need to step it up in that department, but something is better than nothing right?  I have also been having steady business in photography (by word of mouth, I have been having a good flow of shoots).  Learning to read and write crochet patterns seems easy, but I'm uninterested in taking the time at the moment to do so, crocheting is a lot of work and everytime I make something I swear I get a million people wanting it!  It is very very very flattering (seriously I take pride in my work and love when people love the outcome), dont get me wrong, but I dont think people realize the effort behind it, it takes tons of time, and a bit of money.  I have always very much appreciate the gester of handmade gifts (ask anyone close to me when they ask me what I want for christmas or my bday, I always say a personalized CD of music, because it's another passion of mine and I love to hear what people pick).  But on the other hand home made gifts like the diaper cakes I got at my baby shower, I received 3 and was SO thrilled people took the time to make me something.  I didnt realize how much time went into it all until I made my own.  And after I had no idea how much money went into it also (not that gifts or how much you appreciate them should be based on price)... I had always percieved handmade gifts as the "cheaper" but more thoughtful option of gift giving.  I'm here to tell you it's anything but that.  Let's take people who keep telling me I should open an etsy store (which I thought at one point I wanted to do) Lets say I charge 25 for an angry bird hat and 5 for shipping...  lets say it takes me about 8-10 hours to make, each color costs about 3 dollars and there is red, yellow, white, black, and red (but the beauty part is if I have the color or another person buys the same hat I can make a few hats off of it and not lose the cost of yarn. So I dont mind if friend of people I made something for want one too and want to pay cause I already have the supplies and it's profit)  So that's 15 dollars, so what I'm charging minus the yarn cost is 25-15= 10. Then lets say it takes me 10 hours to make, that's a dollar an hour!!!!  Granted I do it while watching re-runs of Grey's anatomy after Declan has been put to bed, so I'm technically getting paid to watch TV, but still.  I much rather have it as an offer with my newborn shoots and gifts for friends and family.  I am very crafty and like to make/do/try new things whether is recipies, sewing, photography, crocheting, and I dont want to put all my efforts into one thing.  I am a jack of all trades I guess, though sometimes I do wish I was a master of something. 


Which brings me to blogging.  I am a many passion kind of girl, I love music, I love crafts, I love photography, I love love love love love love love love being a mommy, and I really love that David supports everything I do, and sometimes encourages and believes in me more than I do, crocheting started out as his idea, I was thinking it was way to hard to learn.  But before there was all of this I tried to write a book and I've always loved writing and poetry.  I was that geeky kid with a little note book jotting things down to remember to add to my writing later, so a blog just seems to fit.  My mom wanted my major to be creative writing and drama cause I was good (not bragging, and if you know me you know I'm very self concious so it takes a lot for me to "praise" myself), and very passionate at both, but I always believed those types of things (no matter how good you are) you excell only if you know someone to get your foot in the door, or else people like *insert really bad actor who you know wouldn't ever even be considered if it was not who they know* would not be allowed to act. But, on the flip side I'm not the best at grammar, though I try to be a stickler about it, that is something for some reason, that never really came easy to me.  Unlike math and science which I excelled in and understood very well. English was probably my worst subject, though creative writing was a weird exception to that, and I love to read.  I always figured you cant have one without the other, maybe you can, or maybe I'm an exception.  


So with all that I am going to try (once again) to have a blog.  I hope you enjoy!