Things get busy around here

Who would have thought things would be so busy around here? What with a 20mo old and a 3mo old things can get kinda crazy. We are however (at least myself and the kids) getting into a bit of a schedule. Willa has been doing well sleeping through the night (yay Willa!) She has a few nights here and there where she doesn't but for the most part she's pretty consistent. Since she's been consistent and she's getting to big for her bassinet we decided its time to put her in her room in her crib. First some changes..... I needed to stop using her crib to store her un folded laundry. I find it very difficult to find time to do laundry. Casey has been taking it down and starting it and I normally can go down and switch it and finish it but once it makes it upstairs it just kinda sits.... Till its used, or till its a small enough pile I can manage it and put it away. Of course then that starts the cycle all over again because well you know if the pile is small or used that means its all dirty again. Ha Oh my so much laundry for 4 people and 2 of them being so tiny! Its amazing!

I have been so busy lately I haven't had much time for computer other than to work. I haven't even shared on here something exciting that was happening! Probably all well and good seeing as how I needed to prepare and now I can share what happened as its all over with.

A couple weeks ago I got a call from my Aunt who as you may or may not know is only 6yrs older then me. We are more like sisters then Niece and Aunt. Anyway her husband works for Intercontinental hotel Kansas City (on the plaza) for those of you who are not from around here the Plaza is a large outdoor shopping mall. Typically it has expensive stores and restaurants in it. Its always busy and its a big deal to a lot of people around here. This hotel is a 4 star hotel and FANCY. So anyway my Aunt calls me and says that Brian wants to know if I would be willing to be the portrait photographer for the hotel's employee event Breakfast With Santa. They were estimating about 500 people to be there and about half of those were kids. They were going to have Santa there and the kids could go sit on his lap, they wanted a photographer to take pictures of the kids on Santa's lap. The hotel also wanted to have print rights to the pictures so they could gift 1 4x6 to each person of their children with Santa. They were in a pinch and so finally my uncle suggested me, typically the hotel is careful about hiring a family member to do stuff. They didn't want someone that was just into photography as a hobby or someone with a point and shoot camera. They wanted someone professional. So my uncle suggested myself, showed them pictures I've done of their family and they agreed to let me do it. I was so excited! The hotel did allow me to offer print packages however didn't want me to pressure people into buying them as they wanted this to be a fun time for the families. We did offer packages but let people know that they would be getting 1 free 4x6 from the hotel and there was no pressure to buy. It was a GREAT experience for us. My sister who is 18 has started working with me as she can to learn photography. She did the talking to people, showing them their pictures when they were available on my computer and taking orders and getting people to sign waivers for me. At first it was a little nuts, she kept having to ask me questions and not sure how to handle stuff. But about half way through she really got into the swing of things and was working the crowd like a pro. I don't think they had as many people as they thought they were going to but it was still a good turn out. All week I was updating things on my website and learning how to add special stuff. Like paypal buttons so they can order online if they would like to and adding directions for ordering. I spent most of my computer time working on that, like while the kids were napping or attention engaged elsewhere. Of course there was a lot of work to do while Casey was home too.

After Saturday's big event I had some prints to order so I wanted to go ahead and get our Christmas cards done and ordered too. Since I have an account with a professional print lab I can order stuff for my family too and get good quality stuff. Last year and this year I've used them to print our Christmas cards, I design our card in a 5x7 format and then submit it for print. They come out really nice and have that professional touch but don't cost an arm and a leg. This is the 2nd Christmas in a row we have had an addition to our family. Its kinda fun! Its so fun to design a card and add that extra picture, ya know? Taking family pictures this year also presented of course an additional challenge. Thankfully we had sprung the $20.50 to get a wireless shutter release for my camera so I could just click the button when I thought both kids were half way cooperative. Soon Eli learned I was controlling the camera and wanted to do it himself. That was a good way of getting him to sit still and look at the camera, he would watchyay!!!" and clap his hands and giggle. Thus we had a string of images all in a row that looked like the exact same picture just with him moving up and down as he was bouncing around a bit on my knee. But they turned out pretty cute regardless!

This Christmas season seems busier then ever, with so many family to see we have set aside every weekend in Dec to visit family. We have something planned every weekend for the rest of the year! I like to stay busy, it gets me out of the house and gives me something to look forward to. It also allows me to sleep in some because it always seems like the kids decide to sleep late on Sat when Daddy has agreed to be the one to get up with them if they get up early. Isn't that sweet of them? Haha

And of course last but not least, the best part of the season is celebrating Jesus! I love this time of year and what it represents, giving gifts that people love and seeing their reactions is always the best part. I love it more then getting gifts myself. Of course this year if you ask me what I want for Christmas my answer is probably something that would make my life as a mommy of 2 young children easier. Was the same way with my Birthday, I REALLY wanted this new diaper bag, its sad I know but at least I can get the more expensive type stuff that way instead of us paying for it ourselves.