How'd that happen?

How has it been nearly 3 weeks since I've written on my blog? It's amazing how the time seems to be just flying by. Remember when we were little and it would take like 12 years for our birthday to come back around each year?

So I started the previous entry last week I think. Then I got too busy at work to finish it. That's how it's been lately. Too busy to accomplish anything really.

So I have a million things to talk about but just not nearly enough time so I'll just give you some highlights of what's been going on in my crazy life.

-Eli got braces.
-Madi got her braces off.
-Sadie started the 5 week process at the orthodontist to get her palate expander
-We've filed bankruptcy after all the money we've spent at the orthodontist. (Not really, but hubby did ask if they had a buy 3 get 1 free special since Teagan will undoubtedly need treatment as well.)
-Hubby and I took a long weekend trip to Pheonix to get away and relax.
-Hubby came down with strep throat while we were on our long relaxing weekend which made it not as relaxing.
-My boss/friend Leah at work quit and left me here to fend for myself among the mentally ill.
-I have become increasingly unhappy with my job and am giving serious thought to trying to build a photography business.
-I had a small secret stash of money in my PayPal account from some PrettyMat sales so I spent a bit on a new photography website that I have no idea how to set up.
-Madi and I flew to Houston to stay with Brent and Rhonda and their new precious boy Eddie!
-I took nearly 700 photos over the course of three days in Houston and might be editing them for the rest of my life.

Also, I had a dream the other night about my sister Emily who is having a birthday tomorrow. Her boyfriend Brian recently sold his home in New Mexico and Emily and I have discussed whether or not he might be using some of that profit on a shiny and sparkly gift for her. With her birthday just around the corner I've been wondering lately if I might not get an "I'm engaged!" phone call in the near future.

So a couple nights ago I dreamed that it was the day before her birthday and I was talking to her on the phone. I asked her if she thought she might be getting anything shiny and sparkly for her birthday. She said she didn't think so. She'd looked around the house that she and Brian share and all she found was some books about building a home. I asked her if they were old books that were from when they were building and she said no. She was sure they weren't because they were with all his other stuff. I asked what "stuff" she meant and she said that it was with his hospital stuff...the books, his night clothes, his cane. ???? Apparently he had been in or was going in for hernia surgery. And so he had a cane. And new pj's. And some reading material. We discussed whether or not he was secretly building another home somewhere.

Tomorrow is Emily's birthday. Here's hoping she gets something shiny and sparkly! And if she doesn't, let's just all hope that Brian isn't secretly building another house. Oh, and that he is in good health.

And maybe that I don't have anymore really random dreams!

I didn't wanna watch anyway. So there!

Monday was Labor Day and the kids were off school on Tuesday for a "professional" day. Not sure what that means other than the kids would be home and I wouldn't be. Madi had a volleyball game in Broken Arrow (about an hour and a half away) and had to load the bus at 1:30. (It was actually 1:15 but I thought it was 1:30 and I had some major pms-teen-drama in my front seat trying to get to the junior high before the bus left. Good times.)

So since I was leaving work early to go to the game and since I had a stomach ache I just opted out of work that day. I loaded up the other 3 kiddos and we headed to Broken Arrow. The game was to start at 4:00 but Madi plays on the "A" team and up until that day, the "B" team always played before her. So I figured I had a little bit of time before they started. I'm looking around this store that I just ran into really quick and my cellie rings and it's Madi saying, "We play in 15 minutes". It's currently 3:45.

Apparently there are two gyms at this place so I hustle over to watch her play thinking I'll just zoom across town and then I remember I'm not in Stillwater anymore. Stupid traffic. It takes a while to get to where I'm going and then I find the gym but her team isn't playing there. I ask the man at the door taking money where she is and he says, "Go through there, out the doors, and then it's one of the big square buildings outside." Um, ok. Except that there are several big square buildings. Thanks for your help there mister.

I finally do find her gym at about 4:15. I go in and pay $5 for myself and $3 each for the kiddos. Not that they are going to actually watch the games. They still make me pay though. That's fine. It's not there fault that I have a big family. I don't mind being responsible for them. You know what I do mind though? I mind finding out that they already won a game and we're halfway through game 2 and kickin' hiney which means I just payed $14 for about 10 minutes! Seriously?!

On the advice of my fellow parents I marched right over to the lady who took my $14 check and asked if I could have it back and just wait outside. So we did. Wait outside. And a few short minutes later the 'neers beat the Bulldogs and we got to go home.



So my goal of taking pictures of every game and tournament hasn't been broken. Cause look. I did get a photo! A crappy one...but hey! It's a photo!

Madi's photoshoot

So there's this little field near my house and every time I drive by there I think about how I'd like to take pictures there. Actually, I think about how I'd like to drag a barstool and/or my Grandmother's chair there and take pictures of Madi. I mentioned this not long ago and Madi was all for it so this weekend we finally made the trek over and "got 'er done".

The original area where I wanted to shoot turned out not to be so great. It was a lot more overgrown then I realized and a little bit creepy. At one point I was squatting down to take a picture and noticed there was a little frog right in front of me. I wonder how many snakes and bugs were out there with us. *shudder*



The light in that area wasn't as nice as I'd hoped it would be either so we wandered over to where I could see better light and I hit the jackpot. I knew this pond was there but I didn't know there was a little area at the back of the pond that was perfect for taking pictures. Score! This property was sold recently and I'm not sure what the new owner will end up doing with it or when they'll do it. So until then I'm just going to keep trespassing and hoping I don't get caught!



Madi was a good sport and did everything I asked. She was only distracted by her cell phone, which I had to take away when I convinced her to change into a skirt and she didn't have a pocket for it. Man, that thing rings nonstop! She also got a bit distracted when her friend Kiley and dog Sadie showed up from around the corner. Sadie got to have her picture taken too but I couldn't convince Kiley to let me take any shots of her. There's always next time though!



I had a lot of fun editing these photos using some new Photoshop actions I found. It's amazing how different you can make the photos look in post processing! Feel free to mosey on over to flickr to check them out here. Enjoy!