My Beautiful babies

Man , I can't believe how fast my little ones are growing. Josiah is ONE month away from turning 2!! And Jocelyn is already 6 months.

We went to Seguin last week to visit with Grandma, I jumped on the opportunity to go to Starke Park. (It's so perfect for kids of all ages) I love letting josiah run around and snapping pictures of him. The hardest thing though is keeping up with him. I always end up getting pictures of his back.

Jocelyn was watching her big brother run around, I know she's already wanting to follow him around. And I can't wait until she is big enough so they can run around and play together.

It was such a beautiful day I didn't want to leave. The tempature was perfect and there was a nice strong breeze. Those are my FAVORITE days. It seems that everyday lately has been perfect, I don't know why I don't spend more time outside. I can't wait for the day I have my our house and yard. **SIGH** off in a day dream mode..................................

The birthday planning has begun

I always get a little over excited when it comes to planning birthday parties, I tend to start my planning really early. I feel it helps me not forget anything. Now that I have kids, party planning is one of my favorite things to do. I still have plenty of time until Josiah birthday, but I like to get a head start.

Here is my ideas sketch:

He is currently obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba. He could watch it all day long if I let him. Just drawing up my ideas he kept trying to steal my paper and name all the characters. I just can't wait to see his face on the day of his party, with all the decorations and stuff I'm planning. It's going to be so much fun!

A whipped together dinner

My To-Do List

• Call the doctor and make an appointment for Josiah
• Call WIC and set up an class time
• Call about the rental house in my parents neighbor hood
• Finish Halloween costumes
• Change the sheets
• Clean the house
• Make dinner

Today has been a totally crazy day. Or at least it feels that way. My house was a mess, my kids needed me to hold and play with them all day. We laid down for a nap at 1:30 which is usually an hour maybe hour and a half if I'm lucky, we didn't wake up until 5:30!!  I'm grateful for my nap don't get me wrong but I didn't get anything done that I wanted to do only got 2 things done that I wanted to do. Well there is always tomorrow. I just REALLY need to get these costumes finished! I'm such a slacker. "P

 My dinner I made though is a first for me to make. I didn't feel like have the "standard" dinners that I usually make so I looked though my fridge and pantry and came up with what I shall now call, Southern Sausage Slop. Here's the quick and easy recipe.

Southern Sausage Slop

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 2 large potoatoes
• I package of Kiolbassa Beef smoked Sauage about 1lb (or your favorite sausage)
• 1 can of corn
• 1 8oz. can tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp Olive oil
• salt and pepper, garlic powder (to taste)

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes. Cube potatoes, onion, and sausage
2. Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat, add potatoes cook until almost done.
3. Add onions and sausage. Cook until onions are translucent.
4. Add tomato sauce, corn, and seasonings. Continue to cook until everything is hot.

I served it with corn beard. This meal was some serious comfort food and so yummy.

 Now I'm going to go finish watching Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which is the first time I've ever seen it. So far I'm super hooked, I LOVE Tyler Perry movies!

Love that Blog: Allister Bee

 Paislea is the cutest thing ever.

 I love reading through her blog. It's usually the first one I go to to catch up on when I have fallen behind on the blog reading. I love how her entries are usually short and sweet. I love that she always shares the cutest little sayings and encouragements. I highly recommend checking out her blog. Just to get to know her. I wish she was my neighbor so I could hang out with her all the time. ♥♥♥

So head on over to her blog and browse through it. See what you think.

Sneak Peek...

I've created a pattern that I would love to share with you all. I'm all about Texas pride and with my sister moving to New York I thought she needed some handmade Texas love to wear to keep her family warm. I've have to type it all up and stuff, so I plan on having it posted by the end of next week. It's a little trial and error, but hey it's my first pattern I've ever created. If you like it test it out and let me know how it works for you.

 ON another note, I have been on an avocado kick lately. I love them. And I can't seem to get enough!

What is your favorite way to eat avocados?

On a knitting craze!

I've been knitting like there's no tomorrow, well at least in my limited free time. I can't wait to share with you my new pattern. Since image uploads are currently disabled, I will just tell you, it's a little Texas pride.

I was just thinking, it's probably a good idea to start on Christmas presents. I VOWED last year I would work on presents all year so I was stress about trying to finish projects and I haven't done anything. Poop. SO I better get started now if I'm even going to finish everything I want to make.


Later on for now!

Courtney

Taking time for family

So I've really been neglecting my blog lately. And the computer for that matter. I've been really focusing on spending time with my family and taking time to cherish all the little moments with my kids. I have REALLY been enjoying my time away from the computer. I've been able to do other things that I love as well.  My current projects including making halloween costumes, editing wedding photos, carving pumpkins, and decorating for halloween. Also we have been taking family outings, which I absolutely LOVE.

Just yesterday we spent the whole day at the zoo. It was a lot of fun. 

San Antonio has such a great zoo, it's on my bucket list to visit all major zoos.

I'll have to post pictures later of the halloween costumes. They are turning out so cute. Our family theme is Yo Gabba Gabba. I'm hoping to get all our costumes finished before halloween.

Anyways,  to those of you who actually enjoy reading my blog, sorry I've been such a stranger to the blog world. Just trying to figure things out.

X's & O's

Courtney

Breaking up with friends

Have you ever been in a situation, where you make a new friend and you both hit it off really well. You have several things in common, same interest. And you start hanging out with them like non-stop, just because you can't seem to get enough of them. Then the unthinkable happens, something goes wrong and you stop hanging out. Either you just get tired of each other, grow your separate ways, or you have a disagreement. Whatever the case maybe the person you thought was your new best friend isn't there anymore, the friendship pretty much ends. 

I've recently lost a friend. Over something I think is stupid. I've put a lot of thought into how this happened.  I know "why" but I don't know how it got to that point. From my perspective, we shared common interest and sense of humor. We both had a love and passion for the same thing. I was so excited to have a new friend that I enjoyed being around so much. I tried my best to encourage her to follow her dreams. And I felt like she truly encouraged me to do the same. I appreciated her friendship, because I have a really hard time making friends just because I've been hurt by so my "friends" in the past. I thought everything was going well. Then one day it was over. 

I felt attacked. I had been "tested" by my friend. I was and am hurt beyond belief. I don't like people scheming behind my back. If you are my friend and you don't feel right about something, come talk to me, I'm extremely honest(at times a little to blunt) and I'm understanding. But when I start getting accusations thrown at me, I get a little upset. This isn't the first time it has happened, and I'm sure it won't be the last. 

I just don't understand why people can't just be real. But I guess that's how the world is these days. There is so much judgement, manipulation, lying, scheming, and fake-ness now a days. I hate it. 

I love my friends, and I guess I'm wrong to put my heart on my sleeve so easily. But I try my best to be a good, honest, true friend. If people don't see that then it's their loss. I'm not saying she is a bad person by any means, it's just a huge misunderstanding that wasn't handled well at all.

With my friend I tried to make amends, but when you get ignored the attempt seems pointless. 

And to my friend,  if you are reading this, sorry to talk about it publicly but I just need to get some stuff off my chest. I also apologize for and rudeness or anger I may have implied to you through our messaging. I love you and I'm sorry if you feel that I did any of those things you think I did. I didn't, and that's all I can say. Whether you choose to believe me or not is up to you. The ball is in your court now.

So needless to say breaking up with friends stinks, but life goes on.

I leave you with this. Something I think EVERY relationship needs. (whether romantic or just friends.) And it is something that I strive for, although it's not always easy.

1 Corinthians 13

Love

 ¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not LOVE, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not LOVE, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not LOVE, I gain nothing.

 ⁴LOVE is patient, 

LOVE is kind. 

It does not envy,

 it does not boast, 

it is not proud. 

⁵It is not rude,

 it is not self-seeking,

 it is not easily angered,

 it keeps no record of wrongs.

⁶LOVE does not delight in evil 

but rejoices with the truth.

 ⁷It always protects,

 always trusts,

 always hopes,

 always perseveres.

 ⁸LOVE never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is LOVE.

p.s. sorry about the downer blog. I'm just super bummed out.

I am so spoiled!

Why is it that my husband just loves to spoil me!! We went out pawn shopping with no intentions of buy anything. It is just something I really like to do, so he entertains me by driving us around. WELL, I've been wanting to start a camera collection, old/used/working/non-working/vintage/or just plain cool.  I never got around to really buying anything yet. But I can now say my collection has officially started!!!

Say hello to my new(old) camera!!

I love it! I can't wait to use up my first roll and get it developed. This camera was released in 1980. The Pentax MV1 is an aperture priority automatic camera, with an electronic focal plane shutter from 1s to 1/1000, synchronized at 1/100. The shutter curtains are metal and have a vertical movement. There is no shutter dial, and the camera cannot be used in manual mode, except for B and 1/100 exposures. The exposure meter is of the standard TTL open aperture center weighted type. It is activated by a slight pressure on the release button. The Pentax MV1 has a 0.85× viewfinder, covering 92% of the field. The finder screen is fixed, with a split image image and a microprism ring in the center. Neither the shutter speed nor the aperture is displayed in the finder.


Not only did I get the camera but I got some accessories as well, a flash, case, strap, and a second lens. All for under $50 ")

I love film, there is nothing like it. As soon as I get the roll finished off and developed, I'll post the photos!

Losing my best friend

I'm in a mixed state of emotion, my sister Kasie is moving to New York. She's my best friend. I don't know what I'm going to do without her. Josiah is losing his best friend too. At the same time I'm super excited for her. I wish I was brave enough to just leave everything behind and go live somewhere different. I'm just afraid of leaving my family. I want my kids to grow up around their grandparents. I want them to be able to go spend the weekend with them often. But I also want change. Ugh, it's such a hard choice. 

I want to go live up in New York close to my sister. I want that BAD. But that means Chris would have to find a job close to them that pays really good. Or at least enough to make it worth moving. I'm really going to miss hanging out with her, going to her house and spending the day there letting the boys play together, I'm going to miss my craft buddy. 

Time Away.

So lately I've been really focusing on my kids. I realized I spent most of my day in front of the computer and I needed that to change. As hard as it is to stay away, it was definitely a good choice for me. By all means, I'm not downing anyone who does do that. Just for me there needed to be something different. 

Jocelyn is getting bigger by the day. We recently got her ears pierced, she started eating baby cereal and she rolls over from tummy to back. It's all going by so fast. **crying voice** My babies are growing up so fast** :P 

Josiah is learning more words everyday it seems. He loves discovering new stuff and LOVES to read books. He is almost 2!! Holy Moley!!! December 2nd. I'm already brainstorming for party plans, I'm pretty positive we are going to have a Yo Gabba Gabba party, cause that is his favorite. But other than that., I have no clue! Anyone have any ideas, please feel free to shoot them my way!

The other day, we(as in Chris, Josiah, Jocelyn and I) went to Landa Park. It was such a great day. The weather was lovely. It's such a joy to watch Josiah run and laugh and play. He loved feeding the ducks and he really liked the play ground. And of course you know he threw a FIT when it was time to leave. Jocelyn  loves to be outside so she was so happy.

I hope everyone is have a fabulous Labor Day weekend. Until next time.

X&O

Courtney

Our little Biscuit,

Unfortunately, we had to send him home.  Here's why. He was a very lovie playful little guy the first day. Second day he was like unsure of Josiah and seemed kinda grouchy. Sometimes if Josiah got to close or screamed to loud Biscuit would growl at him. A couple times he kinda snapped a bit. I was worried but just figured he needed time to adjust. No biggie. Well the third day I took him with me to my sisters house. She has a malti-poo also so I thought they could be great friends. Not so much. Biscuit kept growling and attacking Molli. He didn't want anything to do with her. She is a very sweet dog and very playful. That just pissed him off. After a while Molli calmed down and kept her distance from Biscuit and everyone was good. But then as Biscuit was sitting at my feet Molli comes walking by and Biscuits starts growling. I spank him on the butt and told him no, and he snapped at me. Go figure. Molli kept trying to sniff him and he just kept on growling. So I tried to move the two of them apart so he would stop freaking out and the little jerk bit me. Hard enough to make me bleed and everything. Then he snapped at my nephew just cause he was standing to close. I was like OK that's it. I can't have a dog with this kind of temperament. So I called the guy we got him from, told him the story and he came and picked him up. I was super sad cause I was really looking forward to having a dog. And he was really sweet and good with me. Just not with kids or other dogs. So Chris and I talked about it and decided that we will start looking for a puppy. That way we can raise it to love our children and be social with other dogs. I'm super bummed cause I really liked Biscuit but I guess he just wasn't right for us.

Our addition to the family....

Say "Hi" to Henry 'Biscuit' Santos. We just adopted him. He is a 4 1/2 year old malti-poo. 

He weighs around 12 lbs. And he is SUPER adorable!!

For a while now we have been thinking about getting a pet. I originally want a cat, but being that Chris is allergic to them  didn't really work. So I wanted to get a small dog instead. Chris was super UNsure about the whole idea. He just didn't see how getting a dog would be a good decision. But regardless he browsed around on craigslist in the pet section just incase.

Today he found some free puppies( I can't remember what breed exactly) So we called. It ended up being a scam :( Sad day, cause I was kinda excited. So I came home and started looking around on craigslist. (Which I do OFTEN) And I came across a few cute dogs. AND THEN........I came across 'Biscuit'. His "dad" was looking for a new home for him and wasn't exactly thrilled about having to get rid of him. So I shot the guy a email, and sent a picture of our family along with it.

He emailed me back and said he would love to  meet us and for us to meet Biscuit. After a few more email exchanges and a couple phone calls. We were on our way to pick him up. I'm SO happy to be giving this dog a home. He is so sweet and energetic, but not crazy. I love our addition. We renamed him Henry, but kept Biscuit as his middle name. My little Henry Biscuit ")

Dear Jesus..

Thank you for giving me the gift of  baking!!

X&O

-Courtney

For a while now I've been wanting to bake a pie, not just any pie but an apple pie. Completely. From. Scratch. I've never got around to buying a pie pan, call it laziness or lack of "pie pan" money. So I went to my parents house yesterday and dug through their cabinets. I came across FOUR!! Now considering that my mom doesn't bake(no offense mom) I was shocked to find four of them. I decided to take two, cause I figured she won't be baking a pie any time soon.  Any who, I woke up this morning REALLY wanted to bake a pie but unfortunately I didn't have any apples :( On the bright side, my friend Lisa was going to be coming over today with her daughter. SO, I did what any normal desperate stay-at-home mom would do who doesn't have a car, I text her and asked her to pick up some granny smith apples for me. And she happily obliged. 

So now on to the good stuff. I started with making a pie crust. Duh, what else would I start with. It was pretty dang easy. 3 cups of flour, 1/2 cup (one stick) butter cubed, 1/2 cup shortening, 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, Combine all that with pastry cutter or a fork. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time just until the dough comes together. Then put in refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes. Mean while, peel, core, and slice apples into 1/4 inch slices. Then melt a stick of butter(half cup) in a small sauce pan, add three tablespoons of flour, stir until well mixed. Then add, half cup of white sugar, half cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of vanilla, 3 tablespoons of water, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Mix it well, bring to a boil. Then just turn off the burner. 

Now back to the crust. Take it out of the fridge, and divid it in two equal parts. Starting with one ball of dough, roll it out on a floured surface until it's just bigger than your pie dish, roll it on to your rolling pin and transfer it to your pie pan. be sure that it is big enough to fold over the edge just a little bit, cut off any excess. The put that in the fridge. Now roll out the other ball of dough, lay it on a flat surface or on i pie pan that has been turned upside down and stick that in the fridge. 

Now take a break to eat a snack, grab a drink, watch your favorite tv show, or whatever you feel like doing to kill about 20 minutes. Then back to the kitchen. First take out the second pie crust we rolled out.  Lay it out on your cutting board (or counter) and cut into 1/4 inch(can be wider depending on how you want your pie to look) wide stripes.  Now with your apples in a large bowl add the syrupy mixture and stir to coat all the apples.  (Btw did I mention I used about 3 pounds of apples to start with) Then get your other pie crust out of the fridge and dump all your apples in the crust. Then put on your lattice crust top (here's a video of how to make the lattice crust)

It should look something like this^ Then fold under the edges and crimp the edge of the pie (video on how to here) You will want to cover the edge with tin foil so it doesn't over cook. Then bake it in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, When that 15 minutes is up reduce your oven temperature to 350 and bake for 35-45 minutes. the last 10 minutes, I paused the timer and took the pie out on the oven and brushed the entire top crust with a mixture of dark corn syrup, butter, and a little bit of hot water. Then sprinkled a cinnamon and white sugar mixture over the top. I put it back in the oven and let the timer finish the last 10 minutes. It is now sitting on a cooling rack on my counter. Tempting me to cut into it.

Anyway I can't WAIT until it cools. It looks and smells delicious!!

Recipe for the original pie was found here. 

A woman of inspiration.

This is my grandmother(my dads mom), Mary Jo Cowan. She is a fantastic woman. I don't remember exactly how long ago it started but she has dementia. At this point she can't really talk comprehendingly, sometimes she gets something out that is actually words but for the most part it is gibberish. Back when I was a sophomore in high school she lived in our neighborhood. Everyday after school I would stop by her house to visit with her for a couple hours. I look back now and treasure that time I had with her. I'm so grateful for that time! Even then she showed signs of dementia. She could never remember if I had come over so the days that I did stop by she would write it on her calendar. Every time a stopped by she told me the same stories, we did the same thing. Despite all that it never got old. I loved hearing stories about her past.

She is a mother of five. Carolyn Joyce "Joy", David Newton III "Rusty", Clayborne Nathan "Clay", Charles Eagle "Carlos" (adopted from Mexico),  Joel Wade (my dad), Grady Jr (stepson) Serena (step-daughter).  And a grandmother to (about) 20. She has always been loving and caring to all of us. I remember when I was little my sister and I would go spend the night at her house. I loved spending time there, fishing, exploring, swimming, and just hanging out.

It makes me sad that she's kind of "gone" Although when I spend time with her I can see the happiness in her eyes. She may not know my name, but I like to believe she knows who I am. She hugs me and tells me she loves me, and it makes my heart smile.

New Business Adventure

If you didn't already know, I've been getting back into photography recently. Let me back up a little and get you a little bit about my photography past...

I've always been into taking photos to capture important moments in my life. I remember when I was in school, st arting in fifth grade, it was ALWAYS super important to me to have at least 3 disposable cameras for the last days of school. Back in 2002 when I was 15 I became very interested in all aspects of photography. A good friend of the family (Tom McCubbins) was a photographer, and I was in awe of his work and was continuously asking him questions about photography and what not. He was always more than willing to share his passion for the art of photography with me. And I believe that's when I really fell in love. For my 16th birthday, Tom and his wife, Mary Alice, gave me a Canon EOS Rebel Ti . I couldn't believe they blessed me in such a way! I was overwhelmed. So there was my beginning.

Over the next few years I went through endless amounts of rolls of film. Reading through every book about photography I could get my hands on. I just couldn't get enough. I always wanted to get better and learn more. Then in 2006 I bought a Canon 30D. I was SO excited to make the switch over to digital. Although there are things about film that just can't be matched! Any who, my love and passion for photography continued to grow. I started making money doing what I love. Event photos, weddings, senior portraits, children, boudoir, family portraits, you name it I was willing to photograph it. My dreams were beginning to come true. Then the unthinkable happened. My camera broke, NO even worse I broke my camera. I sat there and cried. I felt like everything was over. My camera couldn't be fixed and I couldn't afford another one. I felt hopeless. Although my husband, Chris reassured me that it wasn't the end of the world. We tired to compensate by buying a cheap point and shoot, but it wasn't even remote close to filling the void. My son was just barely 4 months old and I felt I had nothing to capture all the precious moments that I KNEW were going to fly by. After a little over a year, I had finally just dealt with the fact that I didn't have a camera. I was now having my second child, and promised myself that with our next income tax we are SOOO buying another camera. With that in mind, God decided to intervene. Let me just say right now that I know without a shadow of a doubt that God had His hand in the situation, for what purpose, I don't know but I continue to thank Him daily for His blessing. Well here's what happened, keep in mind that since buying my camera in 2006 I got married and moved three times. One day Chris calls me overly excited. He told me I had to call Best Buy imediately because I got a notice in the mail that my warranty for my Canon 30D was going to expire soon and asked me if I want to renew. I COULD NOT believe it! I had no memory of purchasing a 4 year warranty. So I called Best Buy and asked them about it and they said that sure enough my camera was still under warranty and that I could bring it into any Best Buy and take it to geek squad and if they couldn't fix it they would replace it. We took it in and they said it would be 2 weeks before we would hear anything back and that we could check the status online. The day of the 2 week mark Chris checked the status and it said waiting on customer approval. So I called and they said that the camera couldn't be fixed and if I came in they would replace it. So called Chris immediately (he was at work) and told him then news, and told him we were going to go up there on his lunch break cause I just couldn't wait, I was tooooooooo excited!!  We went in and they replaced it with a Canon 50D, no questions asked! So that was in June 2010, and since then I've been trying to balance starting my photography back up and being a mom of two babies under 2 years old. I'm so excited that I've been blessed with another chance at my dream. I feel like the time without my camera I really grew as a photographer and as a person. I pray that God will continue to bless me and open doors for me to pursue my dream.

I've recently launched my webpage, but I can 't wait to purchase my domain (awkwardeyephotography.com) It's seems as though everything is falling into place, and I couldn't be more thrilled!! 

Kids grow too fast

Man, my kids are growing waaaaay to fast. The time is flying by so quickly I have a hard time keeping all the memories in my head. Today someone asked me how much Jocelyn weighed when she was born and I couldn't really remember exactly. It was weird. But it made me think, I really need to try and capture all these moments cause they will be gone and forgotten if I don't. I've been really good about taking endless amounts of pictures of my kids. I love everything about them. Here are a few of my favorites from today:

View the rest of the photos over at my photo blog