He laughs at fans...

He laughs at fans

His tongue is always sticking out

He smiles to hard his eyes squint up

He has no teeth, which makes his smiles even better

He puts ever living tiny thing he can find in his mouth.

He can find anything on a "clean surface"

He belly laughs in bed with me

His eyes are brown

He can now crawl but prefers to scoot backwards

He doesn't like toys, but prefers water bottles

He has slept for 7 hours 2 nights in a row

He cannot get any cuter!

Just because I haven't blogged about thrift stores...

...doesn't mean I haven't been going:-)

I'm been pretty enormously busy these past few months so I have accumulated a lot of treasure that I just feel the need to share with all you lovely readers:-)

I'm also going to try to actually put my projects up, or out as soon as I get them...otherwise... they sit around.

Enjoy!

These pretty little topiaries were $2.50 each. I love yellow so much and these weren't in bad condition at all. I did take the wire baskets off...

Here they are in my china "cabinet"

This is usually where I keep my tea bags...very hard to get the ones you want and not so pretty to set out when guests are here.

So I used the wire baskets from the topiaries for the tea bags and they are perfect! I love them!

At the register I was sifting through a bunch of pins for 25 cents each. They were all horrific. Except I found two silver leaves. I love leaves and though that I would make a barrette out of them.

This one is my favorite.

But I will not be making a barrette out of them...because they're worth a lot of money!

These are worth between $100-400?! They are from an upscale costume jewelry store that is from the early 1900's. How do I know? I noticed a stamp on the back and googled it. Needless to say, I will be selling them for someone else to make a barrette out of;-)

I got this BEAUTIFUL frame for $5 at a yard sale. I nearly hit the roof when I saw it! I love it and it displays are newest family portraits beautifully! I also got that "bath" sign at a thrift store for 50 cents about a year ago.

I saw this box of old tiles at a yard sale and nearly died, they are so pretty! I got them all of $2. I'm going to glue them on old picture frames. I can't wait!

I used to work at Pier 1 several years ago and used to drool over this. It was nearly $30 though. I love wheat grass and since I kill everything plant related I come in contact with...I just wanted this. It came back into my life for $2! Yay!

It's brightening up my bathroom!

These are probably some of my favorite things to find lately. While with a friend in Louisville KY we visited a bargain basement at a church. These were $5. I have been needing/wanting bookends for a while so I bought them. Come to find out...they aren't bookends, they're shelf holders...but I changed them to bookends and love them!

They just totally make that shelf look awesome!

I bought this for $15 about 2 months ago and am just putting it in Barclay's closet to house his growing toy collection. Maybe not the best price ever...but it's durable and I needed it!

About 5 months ago, I visited some art galleries, one of them had these beautiful, simple paintings done on old windows. I've been on the lookout for old windows ever since.

This window was only $2. I nearly cried. The old lady who sold it to me probably thought...I cannot believe that girl bought this old window for $2...she didn't know how popular they are now:-)

Very old and weathered.

Finished. It looks a lot better in person and I'll definitely post a picture as soon as it's up on our dark brown walls.

I debated putting red flowers on it, but I like the clean look. I am so excited to get it up!...hint hint Noah!

Visit Rhoda for more Thrifty Finds!

Big Brown Eyes

If there is anything that I LOVE about my husband, it is his big brown eyes. I love them. I get lost in them. I was hoping that our children would have his eyes...but since birth, Barclay has been sporting my hazel eyes (not that I minded;-)

Yesterday morning, I was nursing him in the early morning sunlight. It's a really sweet time and I always love just gazing at him.

He all of a sudden stopped. Looked at me and smiled. His eyes are beautiful and deep brown. Just like his daddy's. They are just gorgeous.

One day, a girl will fall in love with those beautiful eyes...

and I will scare her off;-)

Greedy Little Fellow

After my last post, I decided to just stop work for the day and enjoy time with my baby. I wanted to go swimming, but since our creeks up here in NC are pretty cold, I opted for a fun bath. I went a little crazy with the bath toys:-)

I need to have a waterproof camera just to document these things!

Barclay just went nuts over all the toys. They would float by him and he was grabbing as many as he could. It was hillarious!

He would have his arms full of toys and see another one grab it and all his toys would fall out. He then stuck two in his mouth so he could grab more. I was laughing so hard!

It gets better. After getting as many toys as he could, he noticed...his food source in site. (I usually bath with him...since I tend to get wet anyways). He freaks out, lunges at me and latches on. All the while his little eyes were darting around watching the toys. He would then detach and grab a toy, then latch on. He was very intent and serious about it. I had a great laugh.

He has become the most delightful little boy. He smiles constantly, even when he's crying. He follows people around and just smiles and says "hey...." He totally has a personality and I just love it!

He's going to be one fun person to be related to;-)

Torn

I have been wrestling in my heart for the past month or so about two things.

Being a full time mom, and being a full time photographer.

Currently, I feel like I'm not doing a very good job at either.

My day is a constant battle of trying to get Barclay to be still, to be quiet, so I can actually do some work. I'm realizing that it's not healthy to have a still and quiet 7 month old! They need to interact and play and crawl and squeal.

My day is also full of apologizing to clients for being late on their pictures, or not responding to an email in a timely manner. I'm ending up making even more work for myself.

Today is the kind of day I'm just ready to throw in the towel and just be a full time Mommy. That way I could actually schedule, and have a routine. That way my days could be filled with playing with Barclay and enjoying the squeals and messes, instead of being constantly frustrated by them.

But...the occasional client comes along that is just perfect. They are easygoing, they let me do my thing, the images reflect both of us, there's no bumps, there's no gritting to make things work. They just do...

I've been blessed with a few of those clients lately and it makes me want to press onward! I want to capture pictures for people...without pressure, with out the business aspect, without the constantly going back and forth with schedules and going back and forth with what they don't like or like. I just want to take pictures. But that's unrealistic.

I'm so blessed that I can stay at home and work, but I have to admit, it is HARD WORK. There is never a break from either of them. I feel like I am filling every nook and every cranny with SOMETHING. As soon as I'm done editing, I have to nurse, and as soon as I'm done nursing, I have to make a phone call, as soon as I'm done with that, I have to play with Barclay...It's never ending. NEVER.

And the housework...don't even get me started. I've already shot down my pride, shot down my fears and decided that I HAVE to get some help in that department. It's just impossible.

I need to cut back on clients, and thankfully I'm at the point I can. I just wish I could tell which were going to be a pleasure to work with and who is going to be difficult. Should I have a questionnaire?

"Do you have unrealistic expectations?"

"Are my photos of how the day actually looked and went going to cause all your dreams to come crashing down?"

"Are you high maintanence?"

Well, then maybe you should go find someone else.

"Do you just love moments caught in a photo?"

"Do you want someone to naturally portray you?"

"Do you want artistic images that just scream you?"

"Are you willing to give up control and let me do my thing?"

Then we are a perfect match.

Something has got to change. I sit here, I've eaten a lot of chocolate, and some baby food for a snack. (Gross!) I've cried 3 times already. I'm frustrated. My house is disgusting! I've slept on the sheetless guest bed the past two nights. I have emails pouring in all the time of people I have let down. Barclay is wining in his crib because he refuses to nap. I'm not good at either of these things and I want to be the best at both.

Unpregnant

So...the past few weeks, I've been feeling very pregnant.

I had horrible nausea. The kind that isn't from anything but pregnancy. The worst kind.

My boobs were killing me.

I was beyond exhausted.

I just felt pregnant.

I took one test, then two tests, then three tests (and a very faint line appeared...very very very faint), then another test. All negative...except that one faint line.

Still the symptoms would not go away.

I went to the doctors and got another urine test run (negative), and a blood test...negative.

I guess that this baby bump isn't such a baby bump after all;-)

I am pretty much the most unpregnant you can get.

Teary Day

For some reason today, I've been listening to sappy music and tearing up all day long. My sister Julianna is flying as I am writing this, to Pakistan to teach English. Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world today. I'm not worried about her safety, because I know that God will protect her, but it just means that one of my best friends is not available to call, to text pictures of Barclay to, to go on an impromtu visit. She'll be gone just until December, but it will definitely be the longest I've gone without seeing her. What makes me even sadder, is that just in the past month, she's started dating the greatest guy, and they are "severely in like"...which I translate to mean...they'll be married within the next two years. But I tend to think ahead too much:-)
I'm so proud of Julianna for taking the time to do something out of her comfort zone, and to give of her self.
I love her so much it hurts.

Julianna and her sweet boyfriend, Drew.