I am having a really AWFUL day for several reasons.

The most upsetting one is the fact that we found out through a kind Flickr stranger that people were stealing my photos and using them as their own identity, and as their own photography work. As a result, we have made ALL of our photos on Flickr private, which changes the unique URL to each image, which in turn causes my blog to completely MESS UP because the links to the photos have been broken.

What this means for me is that my blog is going to look really bad for a while as I slowly but surely rebuild it. Some blog posts still contain photos, but most have to be totally repopulated with images. It’s going to take a long time, and it’s not something I can sit down and work on for a week straight, so it will have to be gradual.

I’m pretty sad about the amazing thoughtlessness that allows some people to steal images, and the resulting MAJOR inconvenience it will be for me, but my blog is really important to me so I insist on rebuilding it. Then I’ll probably use blurb.com to print out hardcopy books – maybe one per year that I’ve blogged or something like that. Then at least I’d have a tangible memory of all my work online.

Anyway, thanks for your patience. I’m going to begin repopulating my most recent posts and work my way back. Fun times. Ugh.

Hope you all have a great week!

Heather

It’s high time I break my unprecedented 3 week silence and post a blog, eh?

Anyone who follows me on Facebook or Twitter is fully aware (because I’m SO NOT the strong silent type) that I have been feeling miserable. We announced pregnancy #2 on Mother’s Day, and ever since then I’ve been fluctuating between around the clock nausea and exhaustion.

I haven’t taken any photos at all (besides a project that I’m going to blog about later tonight) and I haven’t done much of anything productive unless you consider watching American Idol and LOST productivity (and if you do, please call me, because I want to come work for you. I’m totally your girl).

I haven’t blogged, haven’t cooked very much, haven’t been able to keep the house clean, haven’t even been able to run errands that take longer than an hour or two.

I haven’t wanted (or been able to do) any of my favorite things: Starbucks, photography, shopping, and taking Alana to play at various kid places around town.

It’s pitiful. I just have to constantly remind myself of how blessed I really am, despite the temporary awfulness. I have an incredible husband, wonderful daughter, loving and supportive family, and typically, I have my health. I suppose this doesn’t fall into the category of unhealthy, though…since my body seems to be doing what it’s supposed to do.

Growing a baby is NOT my forte, I must say. If a woman ever tells me that she loves to be pregnant, it takes my full concentration not to contort my face into an incredulous expression of dismay and confusion.

Some women glow. Some women look good. Some feel glorious when they’re expecting. I feel NONE of the above. I feel like a pathetic, second-rate version of myself. I will spare you the details (and hope that Rich doesn’t rat me out), but let’s just say my digestive system doesn’t work smoothly when I’m baking my bun. The whole process is just WAY, way off and it yields some very unpleasant results. For me. For my fellow housemates. If we weren’t family, they’d be gone…no doubt.

Add to the humor (and yes, I’m choosing to view it as such), my belly is popping out significantly sooner than with Alana. My pre-pregnangy clothes don’t fit. Maternity clothes are still way too big. Trust me, I’ve been ultra-sexy laying around the house with my nausea and digestive problems while in my mismatched jammies. It’s hot. I’m totally glamorous.

And let’s ponder for a moment just HOW MANY TIMES I could possibly have to pee during the course of 24 short hours? I am totally going to count tomorrow. I really have to know the number.

I can’t help but think back to our dating days. If he could have seen what was coming…

That’s okay, I tell myself…I will totally love him and take care of him when he’s old and grey and his hair is growing from unexpected places. He’ll have his turn. I’m just miffed that my ultra-unattractive phases have been in my 20′s. What’s up with that? NOT FAIR.

I will end on a positive note. I am so thankful to have a sweet little life-sucking parasite growing inside of me. I pray for Baby Smith’s health and safety, and despite all of the jokes and sarcasm, I love this little critter already.

If you are a woman who is sexy and glamourous when you are pregnant, you are not allowed to leave a comment on this blog post, because frankly, right now, I don’t like you.

But if you can empathize with the aforementioned grumblings, comment away. Misery loves company

First up, I finally got around to grabbing some photos of Alana on her big ladybug pillow. This pillow was given to me by my mom years ago when I was in the midst of a ladybug obsession phase. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but it may have even been in high school…I can’t remember! Regardless, I loved ladybugs and had them all over my room. Ladybug pillows, beanbags, keychains, oh, I don’t even know what else. Paraphernalia. But, please, having learned this information, do not go buy anything ladybug oriented for me – I no longer collect them. I do, however, accept Starbucks, Target, Baby Gap, and Fossil gift cards.

I think my parents stored this pillow in their garage while I was away at college and then gave it back to me when I got married. It’s been in a bag in my garage for years and I recently realized that Alana might actually get some fun use out of it! As soon as I unwrapped it Alana was a fan. She loves it! It’s become her “baby book nook” as I like to call it, and I finally got around to documenting it! 

I’m partial, but that is a CUTE baby girl perched atop her ladybug pillow! 

Having fun with my 16-35mm wide angle lens in the living room…while Alana plays on the fireplace…where she is not supposed to be…

Moving on to photos of mohawk bath time I thought it would be funny…and it was. So I grabbed my camera and took pictures. Poor little thing didn’t know why I was laughing

Then we had a fun treat on Friday! Our friend Sarah Holland came in town and we had lunch with her! 

It was very hard to believe that it had been over a year since we’d met Sarah and her hubby Blake, and looking back on the photos from that day, I cracked up at how tiny (and bald!) Alana was!

Then, shortly after we met them in April of last year, Rich had the opportunity to photograph them, which you can see here on his blog! I adore their photos, and Sarah is one of those people who a photographer just LOVES, because not only does she love and appreciate her images from the session, but she has them printed and all over her house! It’s like a Rich Smith Photography studio there! Sweet!!! 

We had a great time meeting up for lunch with Rich at Panera and then Sarah and I headed back to our house to chat and catch up! It was great to see her and here’s our little self-portrait! Alana opted out of the photo by looking down.  

Then this week Alana and I enjoyed our first couple of pool trips of the summer! Aunt Pixie and Uncle Nick moved in to a new apartment on our side of town, and…they have a pool! We are SO excited! We will be able to enjoy her pool all summer and I’m hoping that Alana gets over her fear and maybe she’ll even be having a blast at the pool by summer’s end.

I had my camera when we went to the pool with Aunt Pixie but I didn’t like the photos, so the ones below are from our second pool adventure this week! My friends Becca and Diana invited us over for a wonderful relaxing day at Becca’s house to lounge (well, as much as you can when there are kids involved!) by her pool! Here is Alana having a little poolside fun. Next time I’ll try to get some photos of her IN the pool. Once she learns she can let go of her death grip on me long enough for me to grab my camera and snap a few photos of her in her super cute floaty thing. 

(Thank you for letting us borrow Kate’s hat, Becca!)

Do you notice the big red welt on alana’s neck and right arm? I’ve been to the Dr. twice now for these, and we think Alana is allergic to mosquito bites. The area swells up, gets bright red, feverish, and (eww) even a little yellowish and hard and bumpy. My sister said it looked just like poison ivy, but Alana has not seemed itchy at all. We had just finished a round of topical antibiotics for a bite earlier this week when she got three more bites. Poor thing. I think I need to do some research and find some insect repellant that is safe for super sensitive skin like Alana’s. She breaks out if I use something harsh on her skin. Any advice, friends? 

Self-portrait! Me and my sweet pea. 

Thanks for coming along on our June so far!

I wanted a calming environment so I chose a blue/grey paint with black & white accents, and I am very happy with the soothing result! Here are a few photos of the “after” since I completely forgot to document the “before.”

This is an overview of the bathroom, and the shower and toilet are to the right. That big wonderful jacuzzi tub is part of what sold us on this house

I still need to find a window treatment that I love, and I really need to paint both of the towel bars black, so it’s still a work in progress.

I painted the mirror and light fixture black…

Found this vase at Pier One and the florals at World Market…

And chose a large (16×24) black and white image of Rich and I for the wall (image by Davina Fear, taken when Rich and I modeled for OSP South)

I still need to paint the towel bars black, and I already had white towels that are wonderfully soft. I love my new bathroom and I’m so happy that I achieved such a different look without spending very much at all! Paint and spray paint are so cheap and painting towel bars, light fixtures, mirrors, etc, is so easy and fun!

Happy room makeovers, friends!

Then our master bedroom got a total makeover when we bought this amazing king bedroom set from a friend. It’s an absolutely stunning sleigh bed with a wood and leather headboard and footboard. The gold and burgundy bedding came with the bedroom set, and although I like it, I am excited to try something new in another few years. For now, I went ahead and painted the walls to coordinate with the bedding and chose a photo to enlarge for the wall that coordinated well with our room colors.

That photo on the wall was from our very first session ever with the Holritz’s, just shortly after we met them back in 2006. It’s a 24″x36″ art print and I adore it. As my friends and family know, my favorite way to decorate my home and make it totally unique and customized is to enlarge images of our family. I adore fabulous quality photography and there is nothing that I could fill my space with that would EVER make me as happy as photos of my wonderful, amazing family.

I love to keep our space decorated and comfortable but I am definitely a minimalist! I love large, eye catching things for my walls. I love great furniture and decorative pieces but I stay away from clutter and things that I will just want to get rid of in a few years. I hate storing things! I love big open spaces and clean, modern decor.

Now that I’ve blogged our master bed and bath, I think I will work on taking photos of other rooms in the house to blog gradually as well. It’s a fun change from my normal blogging and I always love to see how others are decorating their spaces, too!

There is still so much I’d love to do, and ways I’d like to modernize and update our home. I’m just waiting on that $5,000 Home Depot gift card that we’re gonna win from that online survey I filled out

I just feel compelled to blog about my favorite lunch. Ya, I know, I am SUCH a dork. I really like to document everything, no matter how silly, for posterity and future enjoyment.

I absolutely love the combination of a good sandwhich, yummy crackers, and fresh fruit for lunch. I’m not always hungry enough to eat more than just a sandwich, but when I am this lunch just makes me happy.

But not just any sandwich. Not pre-packaged lunch meat with all the preservatives and lack of taste. Meat is not supposed to last two months in the refrigerator. I am talking about freshly-sliced-from-the-deli Boar’s Head turkey or chicken. Oh yes! SO good. With a thin slice of sharp cheddar cheese, a little mayo and honey mustard, and fresh-from-the-bakery multigrain bread. Hollllla!

Publix has ruined me. I don’t even enjoy most bread-from-the-bread-aisle anymore. Of course I can eat it – and I do when I need to. But it just doesn’t scream fresh baked goodness the way it could! Publix, you are my friend.

And these crackers are the new Artisan Wheat Thins – Vermont Cheddar…the cheese is baked into the cracker and I think it’s heavenly.

And fresh fruit…mmm! Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, bananas, kiwi, it doesn’t really get any better than that on a hot summer afternoon. 

Okay, I can move on now that I’ve spent entirely too long talking about lunch food. So there you have it. I love a good salad, too, but that’s for another blog post

I didn’t know what to expect from Alana during storytime but I thought I’d try it out and see. It’s a great concept, right? At home, books are always abbreviated because Alana is VERY busy and her attention span is like that of a gnat. Rather than reading stories, Rich and I have to just point to different animals, people, and things, and go at her accelerated pace. Book “reading” typically ranges in time from ten seconds to about sixty seconds. Maybe that’s typical her her age, I don’t know, but it is hilarious. And a bit disconcerting, when I think about a classroom environment in a few years! 

And so, hoping that Alana might become enthralled by someone other than family telling the story, we ventured off to our Hamilton Place Barnes and Noble. I love this place…and spent quite a bit of time here BEFORE we had Alana. Lounging around and reading books with a cup of coffee isn’t exactly on my weekly agenda anymore. Ha! 

Here are Aunt Pixie and Alana…headed inside! 

It started off on a good note…alana was very happy when she saw all the kids gathered around. We put her in a chair and attempted to settle her in for storytime. 

While we waited for the story reader to come, Aunt Pixie tried to read a book to Alana…

…it lasted about two seconds until she was up and running…

And here she is not listening to the story because she’d much rather run around and hug random children…

She started to cry since she wanted down, so I had to grab her from Amber and quickly move her away from the storytime area. We were quite the distraction. We moved far enough away so as not to distract anymore and let Alana wander…

She was looking around at books when she suddenly ran back over to where the story was being read. When I grabbed her so that she wouldn’t completely ruin the story, she made a noise that seriously, I could not believe came out of her. It was a scream/shriek/grunt that was so loud that everyone turned to stare while I RAN out of the area with Amber trailing close behind with the diaper bag and our purses.

When we were a safe distance, Amber and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. After I told Alana “NO!” first, of course…

It was hilarious and totally embrassing at the same time. I could just imagine that every mom in that area was thinking that I am a horrible mother! Alana is SO sweet, but has definitely reached the age of, um, shall we say, asserting her opinion. Everyone there probably thought she was a little brat! 

Okay, so it’s a little soon for storytime…and I need to work on the shrieking thing…but other than that it was a great experience. No, wait, it was a total waste of time. Ya, that’s it! 

Here we are…leaving about ten minutes after we’d arrived:

Thank you for sharing this enriching experience with us, Amber! Memories…

But since I enjoy taking photos of everyday moments and memories, there are bound to be posts with just alana…and this is one of them! Brace yourself, there are a lot this time…I’ve been snapping lots of “firsts” from the past few weeks! 

The first “first” that I have continually forgotten to blog about was from a whole month ago! One morning I suddenly heard a loud “thud!” I ran into Alana’s nursery to see her walking toward me! Woa! It totally freaked me out to see her out of her crib – she’d used her bumper to give her just enough lift to escape! I couldn’t believe she wasn’t crying; just casually walking toward her door with a sense of accomplishment. Needless to say, the bumper came out of the crib that day and poor Alana is sleeping with a very bare crib now. Thankfully, no more crib stunts since then.

Now for some photos…

Alana is becoming more independent and as a result, wants to walk around when we’re shopping. She doesn’t like to sit in the shopping cart, and sometimes she doesn’t even want to be held…she wants to explore. So, when I’m not in a hurry I’ll let her play a bit. This particular day, Kellie and I were at Target and we let Alana run around a bit. She ended up in this aisle, determined to get onto this cute little stool. Thanks to Kellie for these…

Now for some fun-around-the-house shots! Alana still loves her paci, but Rich and I try to only give it her her for naps and night time. But sometimes she manages to find them (we have four right now) around the house. When she does, she gets deliriously happy…

This next series was all Aunt Pixie’s doing. She thought it would be funny to put my fleece jacket on Alana, so I grabbed my camera. She looked like a little Jedi Knight. We laughed. It was funny. Profound, I know. 

Then I grabbed a few photos of Alana’s first tatoo and her first boo-boo…which she amassed simultaneously.

Rich and I went to the dentist for our six month cleaning and while we were there, our rockstar dentist, Tim Blackiston, hooked Alana up with her first toothbrush (a pink Disney princess one, no less) and a matching tatoo…which he put on her himself! What kind of dentist takes a break in the middle of his day to put a Disney Princess tatoo on a kiddo? Oh ya. Tim is the man! He’s an awesome friend and the best dentist ever! 

And as for her first official boo-boo (at least the first one that we had to put a band-aid on), she’d gotten an infection on her poor little pointer finger. Nick, Amber and I all worked to get it disinfected and then got it in a band-aid. She’s pretty proud to sport her first boo-boo…and I’m glad I remembered to take a photo of it! 

And now that Alana knows how to get onto chairs by herself, she enjoys sneaking up to use the iMac. Thankfully this time it was turned off…otherwise she tends to open and close applications at random! She loves the mouse! 

She’s such a stinker! Check out her face when I caught her at the computer! 

We’ve had some problems with ants this past week, and this is Alana’s dainty little way of holding her hands when she wants me to get them away! She’s interested in watching them but doesn’t want them touching her! 

Roses in the front yard…

Another first! Her first painted toenails! Fun summertime girliness  

And here is my only appearance in this blog post!  

Be sure to head over to Rich’s blog later tonight to check out our trip to the aquarium from yesterday morning! He got some amazing shots of our experience! 

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!