Week of crazieness!!!

This past week has been pretty crazy! Last Friday I found out that Elliot has RSV (a virus in his lungs) and he had been pretty puny acting. Until the steroids took hold. . .OH. MY. GOSH. If you want to know what it's like to have a toddler on steroids I'll tell you with a little help from photos.

Tasmanian Devil + Twister = Elliot on steroids



So that is that lol. This Friday he started running a fever again which made us think he may have went from RSV to pneumonia. Took him to the doctor yet again and got a Rx for amoxasilin. This kid has been pretty drugged up! I haven't gotten ANY thing done this week due to said sick child.

Friday Tim and I went to the Wine and Microbrew festival at Cam-Plex. Needless to say it was a fun evening. I didn't try any wine or beer but I did try lots of different liquors that I may have to invest in : ) I was smart and took two Tylenol and drank a large glass of water before bed, Tim on the other hand, did not lol.

My Mom and I at the Wine and Beer Festival

Not long after we crawled into bed did Elliot wake up crying. Being sick apparently makes our rules change and make it ok for him to sleep in our bed. Talk about a bed hog! Worst night of sleep EVER.

The next day we didn't really do anything. we all just laid around on the sofa. Until about 3 when  I headed over to my moms to get ready for the Father Daughter ball my dad was taking my sisters and me to.

My dad is probably about the sweetest guy ever. He rented a tux and a limo and pretty much went the whole 9 yards. I was probably the oldest daughter there, but it was a lot of fun! Two late nights in a row make for a sleepy Kait!

Today I've been doing laundry ALL DAY to prepare for packing for our trip to Kansas for my cousins wedding. My mom, my sister Laurin, Elliot, my self, a wedding cake, and all of my photography equipment will be embarking on a 13+ hour road trip tomorrow. Boo : ( This is going to be another loooong week! Wish me luck : )

With A Heavy Heart

I have this aching in my heart. It's been there since Saturday. I don't know how I'm feeling. It's weird. Usually I'm able to say I'm feeling mad, or sad, angry, hurt, happy etc. But today I can't pin point it.

Taylor William Bear committed suicide Saturday. Taylor was related to me.

I'm feeling like a bad person. Taylor was my second cousin and I barely knew him. I'm sad that the way I learned the most about him was after he took his life. I feel like that's not the way it's supposed to work.

I feel bad for not going to more wrestling matches this season since I had two cousin's wrestling. I feel like I don't have the right to be so sad about this, I barely knew my own family.

Mostly I'm sad for his parents. I know Sage and I talked to her not that long ago. I know she loved Taylor as much as a mom can.

I have this aching in my chest, for the family of Taylor. Don't get me wrong, I'm sad he's gone and I'm sad that he was having such a hard time that he thought this was the only way out. But I'm more sad for the people left behind. Being a mom I can't even imagine waking up in the morning and having my baby gone. I can't even being to know what it would feel like to walk in and see that my son didn't think he could bring his problems to me. I can't even try to know what that would be like.

My heart goes out to Sage, as a mother, I'm feeling for her.

If I've learned anything from the past 3 days it's that you never know when someone you love won't be there any longer. I've learned that it's important to tell the people that you care about how you feel, and often!

At this time I would like to take a moment to remember the All-American, 3 time state champion, student body president, happy, loving Taylor Bear. My cousin.

What I'm working on

So last Tuesday I did a shoot for a couple I know of their two little girls. This shoot was so relaxed and fun! I thought I would share a little of what I'm working on! Hope you enjoy : )







"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life." ~ Isadora James



Watch Me Grroooowwww!

Learning to Love

I've really been working on learning to love myself the way I am and how to stop being so hard on myself. So in an effort to do that I've been thinking about all of the odd things that make me ME. I've decided to compile a list of said "odd" facts about myself. So, here it goes!

I brush my teeth with hot water, I think its because you're told that hot water helps kill germs, however it could also be because I brush my teeth with my right hand so I turn the water on with my left, which happens to be hot.

I only like yogurt if it has granola in it.

I HATE jello.

Sometimes I forget to breath, and then when I remember, I feel very dumb! This usually happens when I'm concentrating very hard.

I usually have two forms of footwear a year, my UGGs in the winter and flip flops in the summer. The only exception is my running shoes and occasionally my Coach Tennies.

I absolutely can not stand when people are late.

I'm learning to embrace what God and my Mama gave me. . .my curly hair!

I like the noise it makes when you pull a key out of a lock.

The clock in my truck will be one hour off for six months out of the year because I don't know how to fix it.

I don't actually like the taste of coffee. But I love espresso and mocha's!

I'm having a hard time with my photography. I don't want to become some generic portrait photographer, I want my true artistic ideas to come out!

I'm not exactly sure what my natural hair color is anymore.

It really bothers me when people complain about things but do nothing to change it. Example: when people complain about the government but refuse to vote, or when people don't like their body but still eat crap and don't work out, and especially when people B**ch and moan about Gillette or Wyoming but still live here because it's where jobs are available.

Some day I want to own a yellow lab and name him Duke.

Purple is slowly becoming my new favorite color.

I'm a Lutheran. I believe that God sent Jesus to die on the cross to save me from my sins.

I'm guilty of loving too quickly and falling hard because of it.

I only like mayo and mustard on my ham sandwich.

People that have no respect for the rules of the road really annoy me!

I hate when people think that "delegating" means handing off the crappiest job to someone else.

I don't think that anyone except maybe my mom really read the conditions and terms of use on computer programs.

I CAN'T STAND whistling! Unless possibly it's the guy that drives the gondolas in Venice. They're ok.

I have anxiety issues. If I go to WalMart and there's a ton of people there and it's loud I start to hyperventilate.

Sounds really bother me. If it's too noisy I can't think and I tend to freak out.

That's about it I guess, most of those things people don't really know about me. Some of them you might, but who knows? I'm slowly learning to love myself, love handles and all! I'm on my quest to being who I want to be, but loving who I am.

Baby I'm a Firework!

Yesterday was kind of a tough day for my ego. I don't like to think that I'm full of my self but maybe I am. I've learned a valuable lesson that I was hoping I would never have to learn: When you do services for other people, you are putting yourself and your work out there with the possibility of them not liking it. And as an artist this is a tough lesson to learn. But it also helps you figure out how to deal with the situation.

On a different note: I'm super excited for this weekend!!! I'm going to Billings with Tim to pick up my claw foot bathtub that I found on Craigslist! $125 for an antique tub? I think so! It needs a little restoration, but even with that I got a tub that could easily cost a grand for less than half of that! I'm also pretty excited because I'm going to look for a formal dress to wear to the Dad's and Daughter's Ball that my Dad invited my sisters and I to. I'm excited to have a reason to wear a pretty dress : ) Question of the day: Do formal dresses for adults need to be long?

I'm also very excited that I found out yesterday a person I am very close to is getting married and having a baby! If there are two things on this earth I love, it's weddings and babies! If I could get married like once a month and have like 20 kids (but not have to worry about finances lol) I totally would! Hmm. . .I'm trying to decided if Tim will be ok with renewing our vows every month so that I can have like a million weddings. . .he'll probably say no :( Haha

My sister and I took Elliot to story time at the library today. I loved it. He was tired and not really into it. I think the more we go the more he'll like it though. Hopefully next time he'll get a nap in BEFORE!

My quest for skinniness (is that a word? Oh well, I just made it one!) is going. . .Slow. It's ok though, even though I'm still stuck at 3 lbs I've lost 5 inches total. We'll see how far I am by the end of May when it's time to don a bikini. And hopefully by September 17th (the date of my best friend's wedding that I'm in) I'll look slim and stunning in my bridesmaid dress!

This warm weather is putting me in a very happy and optimistic mood and I LOVE it!

For some reason this song feels like it really pertains to me right now so here are the lyrics:
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under scream
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe"


Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through

Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

Arts and Crafts!

So after my awesome and slightly humbling fall I was laid up for a few days. But it has been almost a week and I hit the gym Monday and tonight. Tonight I did 3.5 miles on the bike and another 1 mile on the treadmill, followed by what my sister refers to as a "victory lap" around the track. Lets just say I over did it! My ankle is quite sore now. Hopefully tomorrow I'll do some swimming as my cardio to keep the weight off my foot.

I haven't written about my photography lately so here is an update!

Green Screen work

I'm going to do my good friend Falesha's maternity photos soon, and I was hoping to find a claw foot tub to use. Fortunately EBay answered my call! I found a claw foot tub for only $75! Unfortunately it's out in Missouri and if I do get it, it won't be here until the end of the month. It also is kinda ugly on the outside and may or may not be missing a foot. . .But hey! Antique claw foot bathtub for $75? I think SO!

I've also been experimenting with my green screen and digital backgrounds. Lets just say it's going ok. I need some work on my studio lighting before I can perfect it, but I do what I can with my limited space and knowledge.

I've also been getting on my crafty side : ) I've been working on Elliot's scrapbook and have successfully finished 17 pages! It's coming together quite nicely and I can't wait to start on his second one that will capture everything after the "infant" stage!

Elliot's Wall Art

Today I made some wall decorations for Elliot's room also. His room is Dr. Seuss themed and seeing how this week we celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday I thought I would rise to the occasion! For now Ell has Cat In The Hat bed sheets and a Cat In The Hat lamp shade (that sits on a bright red lamp!!), he also has Fox in Socks above his closet pointing to his name (that I made out of sticky vinyl with my cricut!). He has Cat and Sam I Am on the wall. . .but when we moved in his new dresser it covered them up, so I need to take them down and move them! So to add to the theme (I know, it's a little late, he is 18 months old after all lol, but better late than never!) I took 3 5x7 white picture frames and put One Fish Two Fish in them : ) I scanned the book cover into the computer and then with Photoshop made them the way I wanted them! I love how they turned out and can't wait to hang them!



Kaursin



Now, seeing as it is 10:30 and I'm exhausted, I'm going to hit the sack. I have to watch my best friend Les's little boy Kaursin tomorrow and I know that having an 18 month old and a 8 month old is going to require some sleep!