Poison Control

So, this morning I was doing some laundry because I'm going down home today and I'm all organized like that. Well, Mason comes into the bathroom with the Orange GLO bottle.
Yep, the little brat had squirted some in his mouth. He didn't actually swallow any of it but it was enough to make him start pucking.
I start panicking and call poison control and they told me he would be okay and that he threw up because it leaves a very bitter taste in the mouth. That I should just give him something to drink and to watch him for awhile to make sure he doesn't start throwing up again and aspirate.
I think he took 10 years off my life.
Well that was until he got in another cabinet and tried the apple cider vinegar.
I'm thinking about putting him in a bubble.
On a really good note he went pee and poop in the potty all morning and refused to put a diaper on at all.

How??

I'm just still wondering how I got stuck riding in a car with 'her'. Crap with 'them' really.

My luck just sucks!!

My husband is still laughing at me.

Little does he know the last laugh will be on him. I am sure of it...

Facebook

I have been censored!! My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are now on Facebook. If you look at some of statuses and see what Raquel has written. They are underhanded insults, written so that her mother doesn't realize they are insulting.
What was I suppose to do. Block them. Yeah, like that wouldn't have started a war. No thank you.
So if you notice my statuses being different now you know why.
My Facebook.

FIRE!! FIRE!!

Saturday we had friends over and burned the huge pile of trees that Austin and his Dad cut down over the last couple of weeks. There were probably 7 whole trees in the pile. We had to hook the hose up to make sure the barn didn't catch on fire because the two mechanical engineers put the pile too close to the building. Duh, just glad it wasn't my mistake...

Our regular group of friends showed up and Austin's parents and even his sister.
I know your thinking "You crazy person you don't even like his sister what are you doing inviting her to your house?" True I don't like her but I can't be that obvious about it.
You see whenever we have friends over Austin's family gets invited because then I look like the sweet little daughter/sister-in-law that I am.

Stop laughing! I am the sweetest person you'll ever meet!!

Her and her husband just actually came much to my surprise.

I didn't have to see them that much though because I was inside cooking and talking with my girlfriends. She could have come in and seen me but thankfully she didn't want to leave her husband, Dan, out there by "himself". They make me sick! She even made his plate. Totally setting a bad example for all the other husband's who had to make their own. We will never hear the end of it. I told Austin that is how ugly people keep their spouses. He shut up after that.

Okay I've done enough bitching for one day. I'm off to get packed and ready to leave in the morning.

I'll be back on Monday with pictures that will actually get put on here.

I'll even try to get some flattering ones of Raquel at the family reunion. I'm thinking of some of her eating. Those shouldn't be hard to find. After all she edited me out of my favorite photo of Mason and I.

Note to self change all photo files to read only before giving them to Princess Hateful.

It's That Time Of Year Again

This is Rodeo week. We are going to my Mom and Dad's tomorrow. Well we are headed that direction anyways. We have to stop off and see my sister first then we are staying the night with my grandma in Council Bluffs. Wednesday morning we'll actually make it clear down to moms. Over the years I've found it easier to make the little stops on the way down. I just don't want to stop anywhere on the way home.
When we finally get to my grandma's tomorrow Mason is going straight to bed and my cousin and I are going out for Chinese takeout. Gotta love late night Chinese.
Wednesday we are going to the Rodeo parade. Mason is old enough that he should enjoy it this year and Austin's grandparents want to show him off.
Thursday night we will be at the Rodeo. I am hoping it isn't too hot. Every year it is just miserable out. I would like to enjoy myself and not have to mop sweat off my forhead every couple of minutes. That and my camera is awful hard to operate with sweaty little fingers.
We will be coming back this direction Friday.
What Friday?
Yes, I know it is unusual for me to come back on a Friday but I have to bring my M-I-L's mother, Elaine, back with me. It will be late Friday because I have stuff to do before I can leave but still Friday.
Saturday late morning we are headed to a family reunion in Illinois for my mother-in-laws side. Should be fun going without my husband to his family reunion with his womenfolk. Yes you read that correct. I am going with them in the same car. Please pray for me... that I don't kill them... or leave them somewhere in eastern Iowa.
I will be stuck in a car, my car, with my M-I-L, Robin, my husband's grandmother, Elaine, and Princess Hateful Raquel, my S-I-L.
I didn't know Raquel was going with us until just the day before yesterday. She thinks she is driving. Um... excuse me... NO!
I had to pull Robin aside and say that if Raquel is driving then Mason and I will follow in our own vehicle. There is no way I am trusting Raquel to drive me and my son on that long of a trip. Nope! Not happening. I still can't believe I will be stuck in a car with her. 6 hours. That is a long time.
I'll admit that my driving, in town, can make some people nervous. Mainly old people. So I told Robin that we were taking my car and that she could drive if she wanted but I was not riding in Raquel's.
No I am not being petty...
I have the biggest car. A car that someone, that is 6 foot tall, can ride in the back comfortably. That is very important because generally backseats are small and tall people don't want to ride in the back and that is how Raquel and Robin's vehicles are. That would stick me in the back with Elaine and Mason the whole time. No thanks.
My husband said I was bordering on Bitch. I told him I jumped over that border and didn't look back.
Dammit.
He asked why I don't just make up an excuse and stay home. If you are a regular reader then you know that Robin backs out of stuff all the time when we make plans and I refuse to do that. I said I would go but I will not be made to feel uncomfortable and if the bitchzilla that is going with us says anything she is going to get a piece of my mind.
Best thing I'll be driving so my rules apply in the car.
Suck that stupid.

Really My Body Can Do That...

Monday is a day that I thought would never come again.

For the last what feels like forever but in all actuality is only like 14 months I have been battling PCOD. With us wanting to add to our little family that is promblematic. I have not a had a spontaneous time of the month and that is needed in order for the little egg to meet the little sperm. I take medication to make me have a period but that medication does not make me ovulate.

I have been on Metformin to try to regulate my periods and to help control symptoms. One symptom is no hair loss or very little shedding. I was of the no shedding variaty. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that I was loosing hair at an alarming rate. I mean it would clog the drain in the shower in the span of one shower. I paniced!! Literally I call my husband balling "Honey, I'm going bald!! Will you love me if I'm bald? Will you? WILL YOU??"

You can just imagine the response I got. We'll just say my husband is not the most sympathtic person. Yeah, so, it was interesting to say the least. I was moody, cranky, weepy, and bitchy all week. I was not used to PMSing so I had not associated all the symptoms for what they were until I realized what was going on.

At that point I had to appologize to my husband for being such a spaz and then I got to yell at him for not being more sympathetic.

I can laugh about it now but it was a great concern a couple of weeks ago. It does feel good to have less hair finally. I had forgotten how nice it was to shed. I don't care if I am finding my hair everywhere again.

So I spent the week being bloated and crampy. Wonderful. Just how I wanted to spend a beautiful week in July.

Combine Derby

Sunday we went to the Combine Derby at the Boone County fair. There were 6 combines and it is exactly what you think when you hear Combine Derby. A lot of slow moving tractors running into each other.
I know what will they think of next... something just as fun I hope.

Not MOPS

Last Friday and Saturday was my MOPS retreat to plan for our new year that starts in September. Funny!! We decided that we are no longer going to be MOPS.
This last spring we decided that we needed more from the church we were currently located. The church across the street wanted us. (you'll notice that was past tense) So our coordinator set up a meeting to meet with the pastor and the youth pastor so that we could discuss what they could do for us and what we could do for them. Unfortunately she neglected to invite the rest of the steering team. We start questioning her and she said the meeting went good and we are going to be switching churches in the fall. As you can imagine there were a lot of unanswered questions so we cornered her on it. She said they needed a decision soon because of budget reasons. You see they are suppose to pay our charter fee.
We discussed it as a steering team minus our coordinator and decided that I would co-coordinate the year coming up so that there wouldn't be any more communication errors. We then talked with our coordinator and told her that I would be filling the position with her and why. She was not happy to say the least. We were because a team cannot be just one person and that is how she was running it.
We then set up a meeting with the pastor of our 'new' church and we walked away so discouraged. It was not good. He kept saying things like, 'If this year don't go good you'll have to find a new place to be.' and variations of it. Then he chastised us for not always getting along and that everybody needs to do their own part. We were an extension of the church and yet they wouldn't be able to help us with anything. We weren't to do fundraising for the group finances but the church wasn't going to be able to help us out. He talked around our questions and never answered them. Not good.
A couple of weeks after our meeting with him one of the steer team member heard from her church that they wanted to start a moms group. Not a MOPS group but a moms group all the same.
We don't care if we are MOPS or not just so long as we are a group. the name shouldn't really matter. So last Friday night at our "mops" retreat we decided to really switch things up.
Now we are really excited for the new year. Our year won't start until January now so we didn't have too much to plan so we took advantage of the situation with some 'adult' punch. So YUMMY! It goes down way too smooth though. Saturday morning we got up, went shopping and just spent the day together being girls. Not moms, just girls. I think this is something we should twice a year. I don't think our husbands agree though.

Bad Blogger Me...

I have been a bad blogger lately. My days have just been so hectic I have resorted to reading blogs on my blackberry. Let me tell you how nice it is to actually sit at my desk in my nice comfy chair and read blogs on a 17 inch and 21 inch screen instead of the tiny 3 inch blackberry screen.
I have been busy. Not busy taking photos but making appointments to take photos. I'm excited!! I have a maternity shoot lined up for the end of August and two newborn shoots lined up for November. I also have a couple of family shoots coming up in the next couple of weeks. I've also been busy trying to find a senior for some senior photos but that may have to wait as I know it is kinda late to be having senior photos taken in this area.
Things are really starting to pick up and I'm getting tired of fighting my husband for computer time. Such is life though.

Ledges State Park

Here it is Thursday and this is my first post of the week. It has been a crazy week. Sunday I went with my mother-in-law to Ledges State Park to help her with her camera.
She has a Canon XSI and can't get the exposure triangle straight in her head. I'm so glad I got a Nikon. I thought the XSI was a little awkward to use. Not everything is a button so it's not very user friendly. I can adjust mine with it up to my eye. Hers I had to continually take down to find the buttons. Not good when you are trying to capture something with fading light or not perfect light conditions. I didn't end up taking too many photos but that is okay. What I did end up taking I liked so it wasn't a total loss. The light conditions weren't good so it ended up being good practice for her. It was cloudy and we were in the woods.
I take photos everywhere I go and the woods are always challenging. Some of my favorite photos have been taken out in our little grove of trees. I love when the sun comes out and filters down through the trees. On this day though the sun was scarce.
Better images of these photos can be seen here.

This was taken on the way to pick up my mother-in-law. The lighting was perfect and I stopped over at a little duck pond just east of the house a couple of miles.

I'm not big on the landscape photos but I like this one. The clouds in the background and a cloud shadow on the hill with the tall brown grass in the front. I just couldn't resist.

The sun was playing peek a boo and so this photo is kinda flat but...

it decided to come out a couple of seconds later. This photo is so much better. All my settings were the same this one is just more inviting.

This tree intrigued me. There aren't usually little leaves coming out the side of the actual trunk of trees.

Next time I'll actually take my tripod and get the water movement.

A little lady bug my mother-in-law spotted. I really like the contrast between the red and green.

We climbed and climbed and then the railings stopped. We didn't venture any farther because we were tired and all these little uneven were damp and so it was like walking on snot.

My calves hurt for two days...

This was the last little place we stopped in the park. I don't know why the park service stopped mowing the grounds around this little building. We had to watch for snakes and y'all know how much I love snakes.

The light was so much better on the way home so I stopped at the local duck pond and snapped a couple more. Poor Austin thought I had abandoned him, not that I cared that much...

A Tamron Lens...

Well here is a big surprise. You can't win a contest if you don't enter! So I entered one.
MCPAction.com is giving away a lens. An awesome lens! So I had to put my hat in the ring.

It's been a busy weekend so there will be several photo filled post on Monday...

Why, oh, Why

For the last couple 3 nights Mason has been waking up at 1. My first thought every night is 'what kind of crap is this'.

I have always taken the first shift. Whether it be child or dog so I drag my sorry out of bed to see my child standing by my side of the bed wide awake with a huge smile on his naughty face. Great...

So downstairs we go where we both go potty and then we have to get a drink. By this time Hyde has come downstairs to investigate and so we have to let him outside. Naturally we have to stand outside and wait until Hyde is ready to come back in. Fun times...

At this point we make our long trek back upstairs where Mason fusses if Hyde comes in his room. I think he is just procrastinating because then he refuses to get back in bed.

Naturally this is the point where I get annoyed. I know big surprise there.

I wrestle Mason into bed, give him his monkey he calls Mickey, and a sippy of water. Cover him with a sheet and then I go back to bed.

I no longer look at the clock when I get back in bed because the last time I did I just wanted to die. I had been up with brat boy and the dumb dog for 45 minutes. 45 MINUTES!!!

I know you think the story ends there but it doesn't.

About 30 minutes after I get back in bed I hear Mason's door knob turn. I roll over, smack Austin and say 'good luck'.

Austin gets up willing to put Mason back in bed thanks to some wonderful 'husband training' from after we got the dog. Austin is surprisingly compliant when he is sleeping.

Don't think he gets off that easy. Mason will get up at least another 2 times and so will Austin to put him back in bed.

I don't know we ever survived when Mason was a newborn. I am so tired. I actually fell asleep at the computer yesterday afternoon while checking my facebook.
How pathetic is that?

Where did my little boy that slept through the night go? I really want him back.
Although as a bonus: When I get absolutely exhausted I get weepy and Austin can't say no.

I'll be taking advantage of that until Mason starts sleeping through the night again.

Hopefully this is just a phase and we only have a couple nights of this left.
Is this what it feels like to be old? I have to say that I don't care for it at all...

Something Exciting!!

Okay it is exciting for me anyways...
Most of you have checked out my photography blog. I have not been happy with how sometimes I would check it and the pictures would be distorted or my text would all wonky. Therefore I decided it was time to set up an actual website. Cost me a little money but after all you can't make without spending money.

hansellphotography.com

(If you could only see the happy dance I am doing right now.)

I am still in the process of getting it all set up. Recently I have become a whiz at the computer and writing html code and let me tell you this kicked my butt.
It almost killed me but I had to turn to my husband for help. Thankfully he has started a couple of ventures and is familiar with my template and everything else.
However I did not like to look weak in front of him. Not a feeling I am familiar with and just left a bad taste in my mouth. He is lucky he took the high ground and has yet to tease me about it.
When he gets home tonight I have a whole list of stuff for him to change on it. His idea of looks good and my idea of looks good is totally not the same.
I am afraid that me going to him for help means that I was the first to back down from our latest little argument and means that I had to dishes this morning. Good thing because I am not sure how much longer I was going to last with those dishes in the sink.
In case your wondering we don't have the typical relationship. We support each other in everything we do but we are also each others biggest competition and antagonizers. You know in a loving sort of way. Yeah... loving...
So anyways check out my new website and check back often as it is sure to change often. Especially after I get Austin wrapped around my little finger again.

Yes He Is Spoiled

It's Monday...
For years I have hated Mondays. I think all working adults hate Mondays.
Now I'm torn, I don't hate Mondays anymore. I rather look forward to them.
All because on Monday mornings I know Austin is going to go back to work. After this weekend (3 day weekend) I needed a break.
I think it was his goal to be annoying.
It worked. He acted like a spoiled child all weekend. If something didn't go his way he threw a fit.
Point in case, I asked him to help me clean the kitchen and he had a melt down. An absolute melt down. Went on and on about how this was his weekend off and he didn't want to have to work. Blah Blah Blah. Cry me a f**cking river.
I was asking him to take his junk to the garage. You know the miscellaneous husband garbage that ends up in the kitchen. Like his screwdrivers, tape measure, hammer, gloves, etc.
I handled it in my 'good wife' fashion and am now in a dishes standoff. I might have yelled at him that because I don't get a weekend off or even a morning to sleep in that I decided I was taking one. If he wanted a clean dish, glass, or piece of silverware he could wash it himself.
I am sure we will start talking again sometime later this week.
He just pushed the wrong button. Multiple times. Hard and in rapid succession.


*note: For everyday use we only have 4 of everything so when I say the dishes aren't done it isn't like there are mounds of dishes. Just 4 forks 4 knives 4 spoons 4 plates 4 bowls 4 glasses.

Ohh, Ahh!!

This is what I did with my evening last night. I had forgotten my tripod at home. Translation= My husband unpacked it out of the truck thinking I wouldn't need it.

I still got a couple of good shots though.

Hope everyone else had a fun and safe evening as well.

Wow!!

So I've been playing on the computer this morning. I had forgotten how it was to just play. Usually when I get on here it is to do something. That something is not always something fun.
This morning I actually got on to just check my e-mail. My blackberry is great but leaves something to be desired sometimes. Sure I can delete e-mail with it but I can't put e-mail in folders. When I opened my yahoo I had 300 emails in there.
Every week I get email from DPS (Digital Photography School). I love this site. So much info in one spot. I could spend hours looking it all up.
Recently I discovered this article on making eyes pop. I love it!! It's so easy how could I not love it. I cannot wait to try it out.
How sad is it that I'm hoping for a customer with 'dull' eyes just that I can use this tool.
Well that is what I am doing with my Saturday morning. Well and hoping it stops raining in time for fireworks. I really want to take my camera out this year but not in the rainy crappy weather.

Show Us Where You Live- Yards and Garages

It's that time of week again. Kelly is hosting the Show Us Where You Live Friday. This week is Garages and Yards.

We have a 2.5 acre yard so please try to keep up. I hope you wore old shoes because the dew is still on the ground and there are fresh piles of stinky dog poo. Just shove Red and Buddy if they get in your way.

This is the garage. Don't be fooled even though it has 3 doors 3 cars will not fit in it. My car has about a half an inch clearance on either side mirror and the front bumper is about a half inch from the work bench. I do not park in the garage. I didn't take a picture of the inside because it is a mess.

Note the pile of junk by the door. Yep that is the remnants of the bathroom. My husband didn't want to load it up and take it to the dump so it has been getting hauled away one shovel load at a time. Gotta love him.

Just a different view. I love the face on the stump mainly because my husband hates it.
The house and garage are getting painted next spring. We wanted to wait until Mason was a little older and didn't need entertained the whole time. Nothing sucks more than having to paint the house by yourself because your spouse is inside taking care of the brat.

Backside of the garden shed. That huge bush looking thing is the bamboo. Translation: A WEED I cannot get killed.

The corn crib. My husband has been tearing it down. Hopefully he can get started in on it again in a couple of weeks. After the roof fell in it was not safe to be around so he had to wait for it to settle.

With my back to the corn crib looking west. Garage, house and propane tanks. You can just barely see the clothesline and the lattice work is on the front of the dog run.

The east entrance of the grove. Austin keeps himself busy by cutting wood. Hopefully that means he is going to spend a lot of time in the garage this winter because that is where the wood burning stove is.

Just let me dream...

The back side of the pole barn. We have done tons and tons of work on this side of the property this year.

These wonderful mulberry trees can be found throughout the grove. Messy but so yummy.

The very northeast corner looking towards the barn.

Northeast corner looking towards the grove.

Buddy just had to be in the photo.

The very southeast corner looking towards the house.

Gotta love the hitching post in the middle. We tried to tear it out but that sucker is buried deep.

Southeast corner looking towards the barn.

I love the roof of the barn.

Southwest corner looking east.

I was so glad when the neighbor planted beans instead of corn. I may have done my happy dance even.

Snakes are really bad by corn fields.

The view pulling in the driveway.

The north side of the house. My clothesline. I wish I could use it more but those stupid little pups tear everything off and the next thing I know the neighbor is calling telling me she has my bra. (true story)

The path into the grove where I discovered, just today, that my husband mowed my bleeding heart. He is dead he just doesn't know it yet. I think I'll save that one for awhile.

One of my huge patches of tiger lilies. This is what they look like after you get 2.5 inches of rain in just a couple of hours.

This is our 3rd summer here and I have yet to see all these tiger lilies bloom. Each year something has happened and only one or two has bloomed.

It looks so peaceful. Too bad the mosquitoes will carry you away.

Notice the orange in the corner. My only tiger lily to bloom in the grove this year.

The back side of the garage. We took out the fence because it was just in the way. It connected the house to the garage. It gave the house a cottage feel.

The guest bathroom.

Don't forget the toilet paper and the bug spray and a long stick for the snakes.

There are 4 century rose bushes on the property and this is one of them.

The well house. Obviously houses our well.

The tiger lilies I transplanted last fall are doing really good here.

There are goldfish in the old stock tank connected to it.

My clematis buried among the weeds next to the corn crib. The corn crib was too unstable to transplant my clematis this spring. Hopefully that is something we can get done this fall.

As if this awesome green truck was enough of an embarrassment, lets just let some plants grow in the back of it. SWEET. And he wonders why I don't like to drive it.

And I couldn't leave out the 'man' truck.

Yes, my husband is a city raised redneck.

I have no clue what kind of tree this is. The flowers are pretty and smell good but the tree is ugly. I call it the fuzzy tree.

Just another photo of the fuzzy tree.

Can anyone tell me what kind of tree it is?

Last year I thought all these were weeds so I tried to kill everything in this little patch. Well, it didn't work. There might be a couple of weeds in there but the majority of this is wild flowers and snake or spider grass.

The view from the back door. You will notice that only one of the vehicles is mine.

We have not decided yet where to put the swing set. Not a whole lot of the yard is visible from the back door.

I hope you all had fun on the tour today. So sorry if Red and Buddy tripped you. The hose is on the south side of the house if you need to rinse off your shoes.

Enjoy your Fourth of July weekend.