Live For Today... Tomorrow will take care of itself: 2010

Smelly, smelly, smelly!

I am not one to complain but I have never been this sick with a pregnancy before. I know some women are much worse but I am so tired and nauseous. I have done the B-6 suppliments and that had helped some what but seriously, the smells are out of control. Jesse opened a package of chicken about a week ago and I had to bolt upstairs to my room and shut the door until he was done cooking it. I can eat it, just can't smell it. I can't go shopping without holding my sleeve to my nose when I go buy meat. My kids eat nothing but cold cereal and yogurt for breakfast when Jesse isn't around because the smell of eggs gets to me. I walked into the house this morning and smelled burned toast and almost gagged. Worst of all was Monday.
I took my dog to a park where I could take her off leash. The off leash area was around a pond and weeds. I was ok with the smell of pond water so I let her go. Pepper took off like a shot and ran, and ran, and ran. I would whistle and she would come check in with me and then take off again. When it was time to put her back on the leash I whistled. She didn't come right away so I whistled again. I still did not hear her crashing through the brush. I started to walk and call her name when I heard her coming. As Pepper came streaking for me at full speed I noticed she had gotten something on her back and neck. Oh well, I thought. But, as she came closer I smelled the horrible smell of human feces. HOW THE HECK DID SHE GET IT ON HER BACK?!?!! DID SOMEONE POOP ON A BRANCH FOR FUN? I was so upset! I got the leash around her neck, got her to the back of the car, and raced home with all the windows open. Unfortunately, Jesse was at work. I had to hose her down and wash her twice. I am happy to say I did this without throwing up though there was plenty of gagging involved. So if you think your day is going crappy remember this story, laugh, and realize it could be worse.

The Happenings

I know that I have not been a very faithful blogger. I haven't been journal writing either but a few things must be noted.
Jesse was called to be the Ward Mission Leader about a month ago. What that means is we have the elders over more times than I can count within this last month! I love the elders of the ward and all the work that they do. Jesse, as always, is putting his heart and soul into this calling and loving every minute of it. He has a ton of meetings to go to and is constantly going out with the missionaries. I was called as a ward missionary as well so I get to participate in his calling much more than I have in others before. I really am able to support him because I feel much more a part of what he is doing.
On top of being called to be a ward missionary I was called to be the primarty chorister as well. I love this calling and am so excited to do both. I love the kids in our primary. Frankie is a very good participant even though mom is there. The Lord has blessed us with another baby on the way and we are so excited to welcome #3 into our home. I am only 9 weeks along so I am in the eww I am fat and sick stage. Morning sickness is not too bad and my boys are really good about letting me take a nap when I need to "grow the baby." We are all a pretty happy bunch here and can't wait for what life will continue to bring. What that sounded a lot like a Christmas letter but it's not. I'll write again before then.

Happy Halloween!

Here are my two swash buckling pirates on the school carrrrnival night. I did a photo booth for their school. These are their best pirate faces.
Halloween weekend was fun. We did the carnival Friday night, the ward Halloween party Saturday night, and passed out candy at my Mom's on Sunday. I was a parrot to go with my two pirates. Everyone else got a picture of it for me and I didn't get someone to take one with my own camera. I made the costume out of a blue downey material and it turned out great. I'll see if I can't track a pic down and put it up. I hope all of your adventures were safe and fun!

Another moment to remember

We had our Primary Program today at church. Frankie was very excited to do his part. "I get to give my testimony in the big one today," he told me when I reminded him about where he was going to sit and what he would be doing. He already knew:) All the kids sat up in the choir seats during sacrament and tried their best to not wiggle during the beginning. I sat with my class at the top of the choir loft. Frankie is in the 4-5 year old class. There he sat, right at the front, staring out at everyone and turing back every once in a while to wave and smile at me. It was fun to watch him during sacrament. He was so well behaved. There were a couple shy kids and a couple silly ones but over all the kids did really well. While we sang the songs I could here his voice ringing out above the others when he knew the words. When it was his turn to speak he did such a great job. He spoke clearly, wasn't silly, and said exactly what his teacher told him to. He ended up doing two parts since one of the children wasn't there. Instead of insisting on just saying his part (which I wouldn't put it past him to do) he repeated what the teacher said without objection. It may not sound like much but those of you who have sat through Primary Programs before know what a big deal that is for a 5 year old. As I sat there looking at the back of his blond head with the curiously swirled cowelick, listening to him talk about getting the priesthood when he turns twelve and about Jesus Christ's true church I flashed forward. There he was getting ready to go on a mission and giving his farewell talk in my mind's eye. I almost started bawling.

Blah, blah, blah

I feel as though I don't write anymore about what is going on. Perhaps it is because I feel compelled to add pictures. I know I shouldn't but as a photographer I should. It is a complicated mess. I do like to keep my professional life and personal life separated some what. So if you want to see pictures more often go to my photography blog. So here are the haps in my world.
   Erin had her baby. Little baby Cash was born October 16th at about 8:30ish. He was 7lbs 10oz and 21 inches long. The doc literally had to pull her baby out because he was so long. Cash is beautiful, of course, with a full head of BLACK hair. I think it is black because all the spicy food she was eating burned it. Hahahaha!
   Jessica and her boys survived a tornado in... wait for it... Bellmont, AZ. Seriously? I had no idea a tornado was even possible out there.
   Jesse is once again testing for other fire departments. Barona Fire has served its purpose and now it is time to move on. It is hard to move on when there are so many other guys looking to move on to better departments too. He just went up to Santa Barbara to apply for Santa Barbara County Fire. We would like to stay in San Diego but we have to exercise all options. I am not a fan of moving so here is my problem. If we get SB we have to move not once but twice. Once to rent while he is on probation and again when we are ready to buy a house. I vote for moving once. Who is with me? Sorry SB, you don't get my vote. If only it were that easy.

How do you look after 2 1/2 hours of sleep?

Yup, that is Jesse and me after waking up @ 2:30am driving till 6:30am and stopping for gas and breakfast. Thank goodness the flash filled in the bags under my eyes. As some of you know our family went on vacation this last week to Northern CA. We went to Jesse's cousin's wedding at a place called Sea Ranch. The house we rented for the weekend was fabulous! We biked, went tide pooling, hiking, and just plain relaxed. I think I have found a new vacation spot. Though it is a long drive the place is beautiful. I am going through all the pictures today and will post them soon. For now I leave you with this little number and a thankful heart that we are home safe. I may not have ruby slippers but by hour 8 of our trek back I had a very specific mantra "there's no place like home." Being in a truck with two little boys who have to constantly make noise will do that to you.

Awkward Stage

Every girl goes through it and no, I am not talking about puberty. We reach a stage with our hair where it is too long to be a cute short cut but too short for the versitality that long hair can bring. Usually at this point I do one of two things: give up and cut it short again or wear it in a ponytail everyday until I give up and cut it again. I am trying to be strong and resist. My hair takes forever to grow. Last time I grew it out long it took two years! It got to a certain stage and just stopped getting longer too. Maybe I just need some new head bands or something. I have the problem of too much hair too. If I cut it short and the stylist doesn't thin it out enough I look like a mushroom head. If I let it grow and don't get it trimmed and thinned out I have no volume on top and way too much on the bottom. Oh issues, I have got issues. Anyone else have bad hair days?

I am the worst at getting family pictures done!

It is sad but true! I am telling people to get a current family photo and here I am with one that is three years old. Soooooooo, this morning I had a studio shoot and Frank begged me to let him stay home and take pictures too. I told him he had to go to school. "Sometimes we have to miss school," he explained to me "like when we are sick or need to take pictures." I assured him taking pictures was not an acceptable excuse to miss school but promised to leave the studio stuff up till he got home. As I was going through out the day I though "Let's just do it! Let's just grab what we can that matches, set up, and use my remote." That is what we did. It wasn't easy: I did alot of adjusting, testing, editing and cropping in photoshop. I was so hot! I have been getting hot flashes like a woman in menopause lately! Here are some of my favorites from our family activity.

Classic. I love this shot of Frank. He really wanted a picture with the balloon. It was going to take too much effort to tell him that the balloon wasn't going to be in the shot but I kind of like it that way.

Our one good family shot that was after I cut and pasted, adjusted and removed, soften and cropped. Whew!

Don't you just love Ollie's face?! He put his hand on my shoulder by himself.

Note to self: wear stiffer fabric. With all the up and down I was doing my shirt bunched up and didn't look all that great.

I love my boys.

OK! I know it is not exactly what I would like. I would prefer an outdoor shoot with someone else behind the camera but at least now that I am up to date I feel better about telling other people to get on it :)

Classroom Parent

That is what I became when I went to Frankie's school yesterday to help out in his classroom. I was in the office helping a girl and one of the PTA board members asked me if I want to be "classroom parent."
"Sure," I said. She looked at me hesitantly and asked me if I knew what was involved. "You would have to call other parents when we have an event and get volunteers."
"That is fine." I said. Once again the lady looked at me hesitantly. Way to sell it girl. I don't see what the big deal is. I call and talk to people all the time. Well only time will tell on that one.
When I was in Frankie's classroom yesterday I discovered a few things. I realized how grateful I am to be raised the way I was and to be raising Frank in a loving and nuturing home. I also discovered how many kids go to school hungry only to come home hungry too. One little boy in Frank's class needed help. I knelt down to help him and noticed he couldn't/wouldn't write his name. I wrote out his name for him to trace and then did it again with dashes so he could connect the dots. This boy barely let his pencil touch the paper. I wasn't too worried about it until I came around later and I noticed what he had drawn earlier in the week. He had drawn a picture and when asked to discribe it he had the teacher write down: "My Dad... with tape on his mouth."
How sad! I asked him why he had drawn that and he shrugged. "Is it quieter when Dad has tape on his mouth?" I asked.
"Yea,"he whispered looking down at the floor.
Earlier that morning I had taken a girl to the office because her head hurt. She was pale and lethargic but she didn't have a fever so we let her lay down for a bit. When I came back in during reccess she was wolfing down crackers the secretary had given her. I asked her if she felt better and if she was ready to go play. She said yes and we headed out for the playground. Not two minutes later she tapped me on the arm and said she was still hungry.
"Do you have a snack today?" I asked. She shook her head. "I am sorry honey, I don't have anything to give you. You are going to have to wait until lunch time. Did you bring your lunch?" Once again she shook her head. "Well when you buy lunch you will have more to eat then." I told her.
"I don't have money to buy lunch. My mom said I will get lunch after school." School ends at 3:05. It is no wonder this poor angel had a headache!
My heart aches for these little ones. Each one coming from such a different background. It makes me realize how blessed I am.

Because it is funny

I know I posted this on facebook but I couldn't not share it here.

The Doctor is IN

Dr Frank... paging Dr Frank....
I haven't been feeling well today so Frank took it upon himself to help me feel better. First, he did a verbal evaluation.
"Are you still sleepy?" he asked.
"No, I am just resting. Mommy has headache." I answered.
"Are you feeling better?" he asked.
"Not yet."
"Are you going to get up?" he continued.
"Maybe a little later." I said
"hmmm..." he retorted and left the room. As I continued to lay there I heard him go into his room. I figured the third degree was over. A few minutes later he came back into my room with his doctor's kit declaring he was going to check me out and make me better. Thank goodness. Dr Frank clambered onto the bed and began our exam.
First he pulled out his stethescope and listened to my heart (which resides in my rib cage below my chest area.) and my stomach. He informed me that he could hear my heart beat and my dinner digesting.
He took my blood pressure, which he said was perfect and proceeded to dig in his bag for his next tool... "a shot".
"Oh no," I said, "is it going to hurt?"
"yes," he grinned "but only for a little bit."
Using the toy syringe he proceeded to give a shot in every limb and in my bootie. After my fake crying subsided we continued. Frank took my temperature with a very loud beeping sound, alerting us that I had a temperature of 102! Yikes! When we realized that I had such a high temperature the next natural step was to check my eyes, ears, nose and throat with the odascope. This was actually the scariest part of the whole process. You try letting a four year old wave a semi-pokey object right in front of your eyes and not flinch!
After all was said and done Dr Wattson said I was better and free. I don't know what he ment by free but it didn't matter because officer Oliver came up to the side of my bed and announced that I was not free and that I was under arrest. Dang!

The world is a big place

Recently Ollie has realized that we live somewhere. We don't just live "here", we live in the city of Lakeside. He also learned that we live in the state of California and that we live on Earth. These are important facts to know and ones that need to be explored.

He figured out the whole planet issue when he asked me if we could go to Earth. I told him that is where we were. "No," he laughed "where WALL-E lives!" I explained to him that the earth WALL-E lived on was make believe. He accepted that.

A couple weeks back Erin, Frank, Ollie, and I were shopping at Vons. The checker and the bagging girl started cooing over the boys. Their blonde hair makes it impossible NOT to notice them. When we were almost done checking out Ollie looks up at the bagger and says "Do you live with us... in California?" (imagine him saying California like the Govenator) She laughed and confirmed her residency. "Oh." Ollie replied. He almost looked confused like "how can you and my family BOTH live in California?"

Discovering the world is bigger than your backyard is an intense thing! I hope he is up for that:)

Anyone can be a model

All you need is the proper motivation. I was doing a preggers shoot with my sister recently at my Mom's house. She looked amazing by the way. During one of her wardrobe changes my boys came in and asked me to take some pictures of them. Here is what I got.

Yup, even Erin got into it. To see some more pictures of Erin click here

Get in the picture

Being a photographer I am the worst at getting in family pictures! I am always the one behind the camera taking pictures of my adorable kids and watching my husband play. For Jesse's birthday this year we spent it with his Mom up in Carlsbad. I turned my camera on auto and went to play with my family. My mother in law is by no means a professional but she did a great job catching some of our fun on camera. The moral of the story: pass the camera off every once in a while and go enjoy yourself.

we made him a muscle man... you can kind of tell.

It may not have me in it but this is my favorite picture of the whole day;)

The Future of our Family

My family is destine to be famous... well not really but we usually put on a good show. We all went to the zoo and I got to give my new lens a test drive. It performed rather well. Unfortunately we had a cloudy day. Not the good cloudy, even over cast cloudy either. It was the " I can't decide wether I want to let the sun shine through a little, a lot, or just bust up my gray cover" cloudy. Yes, in my world, clouds do talk and they upset me sometimes with their indecisive ways. Anyway, near the end of our visit we went to the Sea Lion Show. Frankie really wanted to be picked as a volunteer and didn't. He was bummed but got over it. As we left the show we saw some acrobats, two young men and one young woman, setting up for a performance. The zoo is currently running their summer theme "Zoo Night Life: Art, Acrobats, Animals". Eventhough we were about to leave we decided to stick around and watch it and got a great spot right up front. One of the performers was handing out martigra beads. Frankie starts jumping up and down, waving his hand, trying to get her attention. She ran out of beads right before she got over to where we were standing. Talk about bum luck! The boys did their act and no I didn't get any pictures because I had put my camera in my bag. After they were done they asked for a volunteer. Frankie, once again, jumped up and down, waved his hand, hoping to be picked... and he did get picked! Of course I busted out my camera for that one!

Frankie was pretty excited to be picked but once he got up there he was so stoic. It was too cute. He was very good at following directions and the girl gave him beads and a monkey for being such a good volunteer. Patience is a virtue:) After Frankie came back to me they started looking for another volunteer. They were looking for someone big. They pointed straight past me and ended up picking Jesse. Haha! Two participants in one show. Take that Sea Lion Show:)

Summa, Summa, Summatime!

Since summer began so much has happened. Frankie and Ollie have taken to the water like fish first and formost. Frank is most impressive. He is already working on his butterfly and deep water diving... no kidding!
Ollie is still Mr Evil Canevil! Here are some recent pictures.

We had many UFO sightings: Unstoppable Flying Ollie

Can you believe this boy is going to Kindergarten this year??

Sword Fights are really fun with these noodle swords. I have to say at one point it got pretty violent.

My only niece Monroe and her girly pink tutu suit:)

My beautiful sister Erin: currently pregnant with grandchild #6

Our summer has been filled with swimming, friends, and fun. We have gone sailing, hikes Cowles Mtn., gone to the Zoo, and spent time with family. There is so much to catch up on I don't think I can BUT at least I am back into blogging.

As I sit here

As I sit here working on my computer, for what seems to be the umpteenth hour, I am reminded of how blessed I am. I have a husband sweet enough to support me and take the kids while I catch up on business. I am raising two great little men who understand when mommy has to work but also reminds me when I have worked too much. My sweet Pepper dog just lays at my feet, always in reach for a pet. She too reminds me when I have checked out for too long. There is a roof over my head and shoes on my feet... well not right now but you get what I'm saying. God has blessed me in so many ways. Thank you Lord for the love and support in my life.

Something for nothing...

Why is it that people in this world try to get all they can for as little as they can??? Imagine going into Payless and having to pay $100 for a pair of shoes. You expect to go in there for a bargain and you don't expect those shoes to last forever so paying $100 is not worth it. Now, imagine going into Nordstroms and buying a pair of shoes for $100. They better be quality and last for a while, right? It is a bit frustrating to go into the "market place" and see that what I charge is what some consider too expensive. Too expensive? Are you serious? I don't charge nearly what I should for the time I put in! I charge what I feel my time is worth and at this point I am trying to build my portfolio with my work. I need work to get a good array of people so I am willing to sacrifice a bit on price to get this. As I strike out on my own it is slightly depressing to feel like I am a Payless store selling $100 shoes. Aren't the pictures worth it?

More Jack...

Sam, the last real pirate, was at another event I did over the weekend so I called Jesse. He brought the boys down to meet "Jack Sparrow". My kids were in awe as they approached and Sam was super sweet with them. He gave them each a business card with his picture on it and took some pictures with them. When the event was over Sam needed a ride to his next gig. My truck was full of equipment and the dj, Dennis, that I shared the booth with. I told him to go ask Jesse for a ride.
"Oh no, that's ok. I don't want to impose." he said.
"Are you kidding me? The boys get to ride with Jack Sparrow! It won't be a problem." I assured him. So, the boys got to ride with a pirate in their car and apparently Ollie talked his ear off most of the ride.
Monday morning when Frankie went to school he brought his pirate card with him and to every little kid who walked in the door he said, "I met Jack Sparrow! He is my friend! We gave him a ride in our car!" The kid was so pumped. Ollie wasn't nearly as dramatic but if you ask him who he met he'll tell you "Jack Spawow." (the day he learns to say his r's will be a sad day indeed)

The Man of My Dreams

There are few fictional characters I would want to meet in person and Jack Sparrow is definetly one of them! Most of you know how drooly I get about Johnny Depp anyway. This guy was almost as good as the real thing.

On Saturday I covered the Santee Street Fair and he was waltzing around. This impersonator was exceptionally good. He had Jack's accent, gestures, and walk down to a tee and he never broke character. He was a fantastic flirt with all the ladies and a ton of fun. I could go on and on about my little crush... He's name is Sam: The Last Real Pirate. He is going to be auctioned off for a Ladies Night at a Bridal and Beauty Fair I am covering on the 6th. If you all want some info go to my facebook page: Rachel Wattson Photography.

She is too hot to trot!

My baby sister Heidi went to Prom last night. Wow! It is weird to think that she is a Junior in high school. I went over yesterday to do her hair and makeup and take some pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

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