Maid for Hire

Brian had me look on his favorite website today NOAA.Gov to check out today's forecast. High of -2. UGH. Gross! So needless to say, I did not venture out in the cold. I think God will forgive me for not taking my 2 year old in subzero weather. I spent my day on my quest to have every room in the house "deep cleaned" by Christmas Eve. So when family came over, it'd all be done. Good theory, right?
Thursday evening I took the linens off the bed and washed them. I went through my closet and removed all traces of summer clothing (that doesn't fit me at this point anyways, but that's for another day...one where I will bitch that food and I...we're way too buddy/buddy these days) to put downstairs. I dusted everything, including baseboards and crown moulding and the ceiling fan. I also cleaned out my ever-growing collection of fashion magazines. Obviously I don't read them. I am obsessed with fashion. But to actually sport the looks I crave? Meh, I'd rather wear jeans and a hoodie. I'm a summer clothes kind of girl. Anyways, I gave my sister all of my magazines except my Parents, Women's Health, and Us Weekly. Oh and I spared her the Good Housekeeping's too. On my day off, Friday, I scrubbed the shower down, the toilet, the sink, etc. (In the bathroom, duh). I also did Piper's room. Dusted, organized, etc. Today I finished putting up decorations in the living room. Organized the gifts under the tree (I like them to look nice). And dusted everything. So - all that's left is cleaning out the refridgerator, kitchen cabinets, scrubbing the stove, microwave, and vacuuming/steaming the floors in the whole house.

Our Christmas tree this year is adorable, if I do say so myself. It's just the right size and everyone that sees it thinks its fake. So we did a good job. Piper and Brian decorated it. Anyways, this post is pretty pointless and really boring and dull. Sorry. Merry Christmas if I don't see you all before! Love love, Niki

All things Merry Merry

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged here. Let me be the first to say that the first week of December kicked my ass. My grandmother passed away on the 2nd. I will miss her so much. She was my buddy. We had a lot of fun memories together, drank a lot of grape juice at New Years together and did a lot of Fox Trotting. Miss you gram!

But then, and this circle of life thing amazes me (Piper's Great Great Uncle passed away days after we found out we were pregnant), Heather had her baby!! I spent early Saturday morning at the hospital welcoming Atticus Xavier Wakeman into the world. Heather's a stud. She made me look bad, that's all I'm going to say.

Then, on Sunday, I started to feel sick. So did Piper. We were laid up all day Sunday. YUCK! And Monday wasn't much better!!!!!!

So, thank you and goodbye to being sick. I hate it! Chapped lips, stuffy nose, GROSS!!!!

With that note - update on Piper? Well, she's getting cuter by the day and her vocabulary continues to amaze us. Yesterday she started saying "All Day" ...as in "I love you All Day" "I love your necklace all day" "I want to play with Maya All Day."

We're doing good on the potty training. Pacifier weaning was a bear yesterday. I gave in when she told me she neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeded it.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

I'm no good...

...at keeping up with this blog. Sheesh. If I spent half as much time writing as I do reading other people's blogs I'd have one hell of a blog. I just...eh...am lazy? I don't know. :)

Anyways. I'm not lazy, I just have a bad habit of burning the candle at both ends and keeping up with my personal blog is last on my priority list. You know, right down there with sleeping more than 4 hours a night. If I were a dinosaur - I'd be Multitaskasaurus Rex.

**all laptop users please read**all laptop users please read**all laptop users please read**all laptop users please read**all laptop users please read**all laptop users please read**all laptop users please read**
First and foremost, on my travels across the blog-o-sphere tonight I came across something HORRIFYING. Actually - it all started with updating my twitter...and I follow Gary Fong's twitter...which led me to Gary Fongs latest blog post....which led me to Jessica Hughes Blog. Check out her blog. Read what happened to her. Please be advised that it contains graphic images. They're gross and disgusting - but totally making me realize I need to TURN OFF my computer so it does not CATCH ON FIRE. Aaaaand, they're bad but, no eyeballs or guts are hanging out. I'm a weenie - and I handled them without passing out. Some things need to be seen to get the point across. So anyways - go there. NOW. I'll wait....

Ok so - sometimes, during my travels to other people's (read: mainly other photographer's) blogs I feel worse than I did when I began. I feel like an total newbie as far as photography goes. I've never (knock on wood) had a client complain. In fact, every client I've had has been thrilled with the result. But I look at blogs like Bobbi & Mike, Jessica Hughes, David Jay, and yeah - I realize they're all awesome...and that's the problem - I hate being mediocre at ANYTHING. I hate knowing there are things out there I don't know HOW to do. I mean, I guess it's my fault for never following all 8,000 interests of mine in college wholeheartedly - but money ran out - I had to pick SOMETHING! I mean - just look at the variety of jobs I've had...and I loved them all! I love engineering and everything about it (except that I have no window). I love photography. I love reading. So why can't I just pick one damn thing and rock it? I don't know. I want to be good at everything. Especially being a mom. So - that makes me realize I can't do it all. Be it all. But dammit - I'm going to try my hardest so in 5 years, I rock the wedding photography world. We will see I guess. I'm going to take more classes soon and more workshops. Considering I've been to one class in my whole life on photography - everything else is self taught OR a la Monica Z in our impromptu holy-crap-how-do-I-do-this sessions...I think I'm doing alright. But, then, I also want to rock out at my 9-5. Oh - who knows where I'll be in 5 years. Maybe we'll be bums on the beach in the Bahamas. Yes please.

Long story short - I hate that I'm limited by not having a studio. So I'm breaking down and buying some studio equipment. Next up - win the lottery so I can build said studio.

Ok - I'm way behind on editing, because I can't stop reading other people's business...and because I've just turned a quick in-and-out blog post into a long winded ramblingness of nothing. I have to be at work in 7 hours and 45 minutes. So - I better get cracking on that to-do list I wrote at 7 am, huh?

Where's that bag of Oreos?

~*Niki

Oh and p.s. if anyone wants to see my current working conditions...check out this. What's this? Where am I supposed to sleep? Oh yes. That little blue corner on the right side of the bed. Sah-weet. Piper's bed is available. I might check into that.

A few things...

{1} Dancing with the stars is ridiculous. It'd be entertaining to watch if these "Stars" were decent like they were back in the day. I'd just rather watch two nights of professional ballroom dancing a week than two nights of half a couple of professional ballroom dancing. I think that the men professionals are at a severe disadvantage with their partners. The men "stars" don't have to do as many leaps, turns, splits, flying, etc as the women "stars." At least Susan Lucci finally got voted off. Brooke Burke, bless her Hooter-loving heart...she's gorgeous. But. She. Can't. Dance. Hell, I'd like a chance to jitterbug on TV. Maybe in 10 years it will be "Dancing with the Mommies." If Lance Bass doesn't win, I will forever NOT watch it. Not because I'm a Lance Bass fan, but because he's the only one I think is talented. (And he's dancing with my favorite So You Think You Can Dance Alum, Lacey Schwimmer)

{2} I hate to jynx us - but I do believe Piper is 75% potty trained. Twenty minutes ago I would have given it a 50%, but she just went poo on her own in the potty. In her potty. So that means I have to clean it up. Ew. Mommy has a gagging problem.

{3} I hate snow. I hate ice. I hate driving in snow. I hate idiots who can't drive in snow, but drive in it anyways. I hate when cities don't budget for enough salt so they don't salt the roads ahead of time until the snow is 2" thick and I slide through the intersection and then say a prayer thanking GOD there wasn't anyone else coming. At. every. intersection.

{4} I went shopping Friday. I bought this dress. I look pretty hot in it. If I had a tan. And wasn't as fat. But still. It's pretty badass. I don't have anywhere to wear it, however.

{5} I am not, repeat, NOT staying up for 30 hours straight Thanksgiving evening->Black Friday again. I think that after Thanksgiving, I'm going to go to bed. My Christmas shopping will all be done online. No sale is worth waiting in line for 1 hour, while wearing pajamas, at 2a.m.

That is all.

I.Cant.Breathe.

This lady just kicked my ass.


Cathe Friedrich



I just discovered this channel we've had for years. FitTV. It's free. And I can go in my barn and workout. I just did Cardio Blast, which was an hour of HELL. It was 8 cycles of 1 minute intervals of EXTREMELY HARD Cardio, Legs, Abs, and Arms. Lunges, pilates, gaaaaahhhhhhhhh.

But it felt great!

I've Become THAT Mother

I read this last night. I related. And realized. Piper is doomed. I'm totally wayyyy too overprotective. Perhaps my anxiety issues come into play. Maybe it's because I'm so in love with my little girl, and I know how crazy I was as a child. And I know how bad broken bones hurt...I don't know. But this makes.complete.sense.

Pardon the potty language.

The Negative Effects of Child Fear Mongering

And the 2023 IHSAA State Breastroke Champion is...

Piper Frank!

Piper swam for the first time (ok, so it was an un-official swim) this weekend. Yes, she had a pool noodle. But she didn't have any other flotation device. She also did not have mommy or daddy holding on. In fact, I hear she yelled at her daddy for trying to help.

When Piper wants to do something herself (which is everything) - she yells SELF! SELF! SELF!

Unfortunately, I wasn't there to witness this event. I had a wedding to shoot.

Sometimes I get all freaked out - that Piper will remember I work a lot. That one day, she'll come to me and say "Mommy, why do you work so much?" With Harry Chapin's "Cats in the Cradle" playing softly in the background. But, I realize she's not the only child with two working parents. And I realize that no matter what I do, what style of parenting I apply, or how often I am around - that she will be screwed up in one way or the other. All kids are. All adults are. Show me one person who doesn't have issues. There you go. I rest my case.

I'm there every evening to tuck her in, or at least give her a good nights kiss. Brian and I make sure that we all sit down to dinner together every night. Well, at least he and I sit down to dinner. Piper has her own ideas most nights. I'm not going to sit on her to make her eat, I'm not going to beat her. I can yell at her and give her time outs but if she doesn't want to eat, she doesn't want to eat. I'm not going to make her life miserable about it. Someday, she will discover how to relax and sit still. Unfortunately, I'm not a very good role model in that department. Some parents say "I don't know where she gets it. I don't know who's kid she is." I think there's no question in this case. :)

Word of the Day...

trepidation [trep-i-dey-shuhn]

–noun 1. tremulous fear, alarm, or agitation; perturbation.
2. trembling or quivering movement; tremor.

Yes, I am afraid. You can call me one of those crazy people who are afraid of change. That I'm close-minded. That's fine. I call it OCD. I like everything where it is, as it has been, and forever unchanging. I do not like things to be shaken up.

BUT - with that said.

There's nothing we can do about it now. So, we can suck it up. Hope for the best. Put all of our negative thoughts and TREPIDATION into positive energy. Who knows? Maybe this guy knows what he's doing. We will never know until we give him a chance. So here you go Obama, here is your chance.

I listened to his acceptance speech this morning. I had a tear in my eye. Not a tear of fear. A tear of hope. I looked in my rearview mirror and realized...this isn't about me. This is about her. This is about her reading in her history books that in 2008 the first African American president was elected to office. And when she comes home I'll say "Yes dear, that was the night you fell asleep on my lap watching the election results in your purple Monkey nightgown with your pink John Deere blanket." This isn't about mommy's fear of change. This is about - maybe this nation was in the crapper and it needs a change. Needs shaken up a bit. This isn't about mommy & daddy being conservatives. This is about a lesson learned that sometimes, we don't always get what we want, and we have to put trust in other people to make the right decision for us.

So - my NEW word of the day is:
anticipation [an-tis-uh-pey-shuhn]

–noun 1. the act of anticipating or the state of being anticipated.
2. realization in advance; foretaste.
3. expectation or hope.
4. previous notion; slight previous impression.
5. intuition, foreknowledge, or prescience.
6. Law. a premature withdrawal or assignment of money from a trust estate.
7. Music. a tone introduced in advance of its harmony so that it sounds against the preceding chord.

For Sale

2007 Honda 450 R
Electric Start
Red Frame - Black Plastics w/ Red Flames
Less than 20 hours
Blingstar Nerf Bars
Comes w/ a set of rear paddles
Asking $5,000


I don't ride it that much - when we go to Silver Lake one of us has to stay back at the truck w/ Piper so we only take Brian's up there. I'd like a Jeep sometime after we buy a house - so that way Piper can enjoy the dunes as much as I do! :)

Wonderful News!!

Brian was giving Maya a bath. Piper was helping. So it got messy. There was water on the floor everywhere. Brian was mopping up the floor with towels and felt something on his hand. It was my diamond!!! It's been in our bathroom this whole time! Needless to say - we are NOT taking it to Helzburg to have it remounted. They probably have mine and my mother in law's faces up on the office wall to immediately call security if we ever show their faces again anyways. Good - they should be scared. I will make sure to recommend to my brides to NEVER buy anything from Helzburg and Rita will make sure to tell her clients the same.

This weekend was rather uneventful. REALLY uneventful. Friday was fun. Jessie, Jack, Mike, Anita, Ty, Madyson, Evie, Jeanne, Jack, Lydia, Madison, Mason, Aiden, Piper, Brian and I went to my mom's house for trick-or-treat. My dad built us a nice bonfire and we made pudgie pies, buscuits on a stick, and hot dogs. My mom made a crock pot full of chili. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening. It was definitely a wonderful way to kick off the winter season.

Saturday was nice and peaceful, I took engagement photos of a girl I used to work with at Hooters. She's one of them that I miss very much, so it was good to see her! I had a lot of laughs. Then Brian and I watched 3 movies in a row. Wow! Are we old or what? We're taking full advantage of our Netflix membership. We're already through 6 movies in one month - that's a lot for us!!! We watched Spinal Tap (it was horrible, stupid, and I couldn't wait for it to be over), Dan In Real Life (I cried at the end. No, I sobbed. Sobbed my little heart out. But it was a good cry and I needed it), and Blades of Glory (typical Will Ferrell, so of course...we loved it!!!). Next up: The Big Lebowski, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, and Get Smart. If you have any suggestions please comment! We basically can only agree on stupid comidies and I sneak in a chick flick every now and then. Ever since I watched House of 1,000 Corpses I forbid anything scary (It was a great movie, just gave me nightmares and stroked my paranoid tendencies more than normal!) and I chose Sideways (I loved it - Brian gave me the evil eye the whole time...he's a simple man I guess) we decided only comedies and historical-type dramas (National Treasure-ish) and mob movies. Oh and anything Quentin Tarantino. That reminds me, we haven't seen Kill Bill yet (yeah, we're losers)...I better go add that to my queue.

Oh - and we did nothing today. I took some family photos and Brian washed his dad's Corvette. Other than that - nothing. :)

Peace! :)

Helzberg Diamonds...

...does not stand behind their work. 3 years after having my engagement ring soldered to my wedding band - my diamond falls out. It may not have been the biggest diamond, but I can assure you - you won't find a diamond on just anyone's fingers with higher grades than this one. Someone is either already lucky or will be when they go get it appraised. It truely and sincerely breaks my heart that the very diamond my husband surprised me with...went to my parents house to ask for my hand in marriage with...the diamond I was so excited to call home about when he proposed - is forever gone from my life. And Helzberg refuses to replace it. If I built a house, I'd have to stand behind it. Regardless of any conditions. If it fell down, I'd be to blame. So, yes I blame YOU Helzberg Diamonds. You suck. You have broken my heart and taken from me something that will never be replaced, because you do crappy work. The end.

Snow Between the Toes is Never Comfortable

Last night it snowed.


This means a sad point of the year for me. One that I never look forward to. One that I wrestle with - should I? Or shouldn't I?



The Retirement of Impractical Shoes



"You want to fall in love with a shoe, go ahead. A shoe can't love you back, but, on the other hand, a shoe can't hurt you too deeply either. And there are so many nice-looking shoes."~Allan Sherman

You Say Tomato...

Piper has certain words she uses that only Brian and I understand. I swore I'd always correct her speech so as to avoid this. I also swore to not be a naggy mother. So - whatever. When she's naked she says "NAKEN!" When she doesn't like something "NO LIKE IT!" When she wants the light on or off she says "E-YIGHT ON!" or "E-YIGHT OFF!" I have no idea why she pronounces her "L's" as "Y's"? Maybe Brian or I have a little Spanish flair about us that we didn't know about? Her favorite band is "TALLIKA!" (Metallica). "SHOE PHONES" are Head Phones. I got sick of listening to the "BOO BOPS" (Doodlebops) every morning so she listens to them through headphones on her way to Gigi's so I can hear the morning news on WLS. At night she wants to watch "FIFFORD" (Clifford) or "P PETS" (Wonder Pets). Grandpa became "POO PA".

I know her speech is fine. She heard the word "douchebag" on My Name is Earl the other night - and repeated it perfectly. Over and over AND OVER again. My only hope is that she doesn't whip that out in the middle of church. *Shudder* She also said "Peytonn Manning" clear as a bell last night. As well as "Indianapolis."

She also has this obsession with Moose. She says she's looking for Moose. Moose is in the back yard. SHHHH Moose is sleeping. When you ask her what her Moose's name is - "FIVE" is what she says. Every time. So I guess she has an imaginary friend named Five that is a Moose. I have come to the conclusion, however, that Moose isn't imaginary - it's my great uncle's angel watching over her. I know that sounds weird but his nickname was Moose. Piper has never seen a Moose in real life - we do not hold daily conversations about the animal - and she bears no toys that are Moose's or resemble a Moose. She saw a Moose on TV the other day and jumped up and said MOOSE!!! She knows what a Moose is. So, Moose, you're welcome at our house anytime.

I worry constantly that I work too much - that she thinks mommy lives behind her laptop. That I don't play with her enough or teach her enough. She can spell her name and count to five. Although I'm sure this is purely from memorization and she doesn't actually KNOW what "Three" means yet. But she's growing so fast, and getting smarter by the day.

When she doesn't get what she want she cries. When I tell her "OH Piper, that's a fake cry..." She says "Mommy. Tears. Look." And then she proceeds to get whatever it was she wanted in the first place...

The Best Journey Always Takes Us Home

Brian and I have officially and seriously begun house hunting. Yeah, yeah we've been "house hunting" for seven years now. But it always ended the same way - me loving a house and Brian finding something horribly wrong with it (It's only got a one acre! It's not out in the boonies enough! The 8,000 square ft pole barn doesn't have insulation or a floor drain! The garage will not fit 2 trucks, 2 four wheelers, 1 harley, and a plethora of tools! The grass does not look good when it blows westward.) But, after 30 years I think he finally realizes that his dream home/property can not be found in LaPorte County for under at least half a million. And we, my friends, are not spending half a mil on a HOUSE. Or anything. Ever. I think even if I win the lottery we'll spend it not on a house. Everyone always says "I'll build my dream house!" What on earth do you need 17 bathrooms for? If you need 17 bathrooms in your home I think maybe you need to see a Gastroenterologist.

So, along with house hunting, I've been decorating. Mentally, only of course. If I find good deals on things, I'll pick them up. So far I've only gotten a shower curtain. I had an awesome quilt/duvet in my cart on Overstock but I waited too long and it sold out. *BOOOO* Anyways - here's the shower curtain. Love it! Want to paint the walls that green color. White ceramic tile floor. I think a black shower and sink would look pretty sweet too. But, again, I don't want to dump a ton of money in a 8x8 room.

I will post more niftiness when I find it. Our master bedroom will have rust colored walls, black refinished antique furniature, and grey carpet. I want a nice black and white quilt - perhaps something with a funky design. Nothing that says Harley on it. Just something black and white with rust colored sateen sheets. We found some super awesome black and white antique-looking canvas' at the Harley-Davidson Museum. I do not want skulls in my boudoir decor. I don't want skulls...such as this:

Or anything containing dreamcatchers, eagles, or Yosemite Sam. I like antique old school motorcycle black and whites.

=

So, that's all the ideas I have for right now. I talked to a lady this weekend who has a carpenter that will make us a harvest table for $500-$600. I've found them online for around $7k. More than I will ever want to spend on a kitchen table. She said she hasn't seen them go for less than $1k at auctions. So, I think the carpenter route is the way to go. He only builds spring-fall. We pick the wood, finish, and stain. So that is neat. I'm thinking I want our initials carved in the bottom, so it will be a family heirloom eventually. This is a harvest table, by the way. My Aunt Kathe had one when I was younger and I've always wanted one. (Only with benches on both sides, and not that long - I'm assuming our kitchen won't be able to accomodate a 17' table.)

Trick or Treat Event 2 of 3

Tonight is LaPorte's trick or treat. This morning was our church's Trunk or Treat. Between event #1 and event #2 there should have been a nap. I'm in hour #4 of trying to get her to take a nap. Coming up with this equation...
Grumpy Child + Monkey Costume = Parent Commited to Psych Ward (squared)

With this Ring...RING? WHAT RING?

I'm a little devistated right now. My diamond fell out of my ring. I have no long, interesting, witty story how it was lost. I just know it's not there anymore. Helzburg really hasn't been a help. I just thought I'd contribute to the blog, which has turned into nothing but a documentation of a string of lousy freakin luck.

But. I have Brian and Piper and my good health. And no diamond could replace that, on my finger or in my heart. *Sappy sappy*

An Elephant Never Forgets

Brian's truck (Bless the piece of crap) has been having trouble starting. So. We took it into Pine. (So it's only what? Ten times it's been there in the past 3 weeks)...They said it needed a new fuel pump and fuel filter, to the tune of $900.

When Brian called to tell me this I about fell over. Then I got a little mad. Then it all came back to me...This fateful day replayed in my mind:


That was the day back in oh I don't know 2003? That Brian's fuel pump went out. They said -and-I-quote- "This has a lifetime warranty on it, so if it ever goes out again, we will replace it for free. But, fuel pumps never go out twice on vehicles." Two days later? Truck wouldn't start. Guess what? Faulty fuel pump. Fuel Pump #3 has lasted us thus far - now we need a new one. Thank GOD I remembered this (and had photos to prove it!).

So, the "Lifetime Warranty" coupled with the "Shenanigans le Pine Chevrolet" in previous weeks - $900...taken care of.

So, this just goes to prove the fact that I never forget ANYTHING. Sometimes it comes in handy, and sometimes it's just annoying.

If it weren't for bad luck...

Some say I should be a writer - and write a book of all the tales our family has to tell. Some say I should've been a comedian - a regular on SNL. However, most tell me I should just crawl into a hole and wait until my luck changes, because damn - I'm afraid to ask the age-old question "What else could go wrong?" So, not only will I use this blog to update you on family events and updates - but I'm also going to exercise my (non-existant) writing skills and fill you in about just what it is I call "luck" - or lack thereof.

I have about 10 stories I could start with for this week alone. My dog eating a whole loaf of pumpkin bread, a whole container of cookies, and a breakfast sandwich. My daughter getting stung by a bee, then getting her finger caught in a swing chain. Or the 3 month old "allergies" I've been experiencing, which in fact were a nasty sinus infection. There's also the story about our eventful Wednesday, when Brian was on his way to take his exam for the DNR and forgot his transcripts and had to drive all the way back to get them (from Plymouth...). But today, I will just start with what has happened on today, October 10th.

About two years ago Brian's windsheild on his 2001 Silverado broke. For those of you that know Brian know he's extremely anal about his vehicles and of course, this pretty much ruined his week. So, he goes to get it fixed. They do a crappy job. The windshield leaks air. In typical Frank form, we have to go have something re-done that we've already paid to have done RIGHT the first time. (The moral of this whole blog is just that...getting it done right the first time!)

Time passes, Brian notices rust around the top of his windshield. He concludes that whoever cut the seal, also must have nicked the paint, causing it to rust. Certainly it isn't Brians fault - he takes care of his vehicles better than most take care of their children. He washes, waxes, baby talks and garages his truck whenever possible. Sometimes, I think if they made a bed larger than a king size, we'd have the truck in bed with us. He calls the windshield place - they take no blame (of course!). So we're S.O.L.

He takes it to Pine Chevrolet in LaPorte. The body shop guy says for $200 they will fix it. That's exactly what he says "For a couple hundred we will fix it." He didn't go into detail, only promised he'd fix it. So, we him-hawed around for a few weeks and finally last week Brian got it fixed. Well, we thought so.

Monday it rained. Hard. Not only did it rain OUTSIDE Brian's truck but it rained INSIDE - through the windshield. So, of course he called and complained. Their service manager started screaming at Brian. Brian, not one to tolerate this, hung up and called back the owner of the company.

Long story short - they refixed it. For free. Upon refixing this. They realized that the original windsheild place never glued the windsheild in place (nice!). Pine proceeded to fix it. They also proceeded to cut his XM wire and jack up his windshield wipers. I've never seen him so mad in all my life!!! Oh he was festerin'!

The guys there apologized profusely - fixed it AGAIN.

Long story short...if you can't do something right the first time - there's always next time! Right? Sheesh!

The Big Girl Bed

Tonight is Night #2 of Piper sleeping in her big girl bed. I don't know if I'm happy about this or not. On one hand, I get a deeper sleep without getting kicked in the nose or my eyeballs being pryed open (yes, she does this)...but it's definitely not a more continual sleep. I woke up about 10 times last night just to make sure she hadn't fallen out. There were two turning points for mommy & daddy to realize it was time for the big girl bed. 1) Mommy woke up the other morning with two little feet down her shorts. Yes, feet...down her shorts. Seems that Poopsie's feet got cold so she just stuffed them down my drawers. 2) Piper decided the best way to get in her crib was to climb on the window sill, climb in, then try to jump out. Yes, jump out of her crib. I'm still not done paying the hospital off from the last time we were there two days in a row...I don't think I can handle another one for a while - financially and mentally!!!

Tonight was also Piper's first bloody nose. No clue how she got it. Maybe she had her finger in there, who knows. But when I turned around and there was a mass amount of blood on her face and I screamed bloody murder (probably not the best thing to have done) I think it may have freaked her out a little. Way to go mom. But we're ok now.

Piper has been eating a lot more too. For those of you that don't know, she recently had some bloodwork done to test for anemia. She is way below the curve for her weight (23 pounds at 25 months!) and way above the curve for height (37"). She hates eating, hates meat, any vegetables, etc. So, they were concerned about her being anemic. But she's a-ok! And this week she's taken an interest more in eating. Tonight and last night she ate some of my salad!!! She thinks the carrot slices are cheese, shhhhh.

I was hoping this post would be a lot more interesting and a lot less essay. But the touchpad on my new laptop is super sensitive and I haven't taken the time to figure out how to change the settings yet. And my cursor keeps jumping all over the page and I have to keep deleting random blobs of words smack dab in the middle of paragraphs. So, yeah. That's all for now in the land of Frank!

Welcome!

In order to separate personal news from business news - I've created this blog to update everyone on the Land of Franks. More commonly known as The Franks of Hazzard. Feel free to visit my photography blog here.

I just discovered a funky little thing called Twitter. You should check it out and add me. My name is nfphotography.

I will add a "real" post sometime today - just wanted to get this thing started!!!