normal...

normal....what is that?  How is normal defined?  I guess it's totally subjective...everyone's normal is different. For us...normal is chaos...maybe organized chaos on good days.  Life with 3 kids can get pretty crazy.  We got married young but waited a good 5 years before having our first kiddo.  Since then I've either had a newborn or been pregnant.  I was pregnant in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.  2013 shall be different. No more babies...no more pregnancies.  No more of these sweet babies....

I cannot claim any credit for Kenzie's pic here....Poor Alexander...his were AWFUL...Owen....well he lucked out....

'Normal' here, is a fabulous life.  There are rough mornings, and long days...but those are capped off with late night snuggles on the couch, early morning bed sharing, afternoon picnics at parks, playing superheroes, and more kisses on soft chubby cheeks than any one person should get to have.  Our normal is anything but normal....it's glamorous. :)

A little about me...

Most of my blog posts are about my photos...whether of other people, or my own family...it's pretty much all photography.  Well I decided to start doing a little blogging about my own randomness as well.  There will probably be pictures, because well...I'm a visual person.  If you couldn't tell.
Today's post...entirely random because i haven't exactly had a lot of time to think about things.  So here you go....random facts about me...

1. I love being a stay at home mommy..but sometimes...i have to escape, and get away.  That usually involves going to Target.  And I can't be blamed for that because it's the only local place where a Starbucks is.

Only the best combination EVER!

2. I am an ice queen.  I hate chick flick movies.  While watching a sappy movie, my husband is more likely to get emotional than me.  Unless it involves newborn babies or something...then i'm a big puddle of watery mashed potatoes.   (yuck)

Meh...mildly disheartening at best.

3. I hate cold ketchup.  It ruins hot food.  So we have two bottles of ketchup at my house...one in the pantry, one in the fridge.

4. The sounds of scissors opening and closing is oddly calming to me.  I cannot tell you why but i love it.  sliice sliiice sliiice.  :::ahh:::

5. I drink roughly 5 cups of iced coffee per day. oof!

I LOVE YOU!

I LOVE YOU!

6. I alternately drink water, and nothing else...but i have a weird aversion to 'old' water.  If a bottle of water has been opened for more than, say, 5 hours...i don't like to drink it.  I'm like that little girl in the movie 'Signs'...you know...that one with mel gibson and the aliens directed by M. Night Shamalamadingdong.

IT'S OLD!

7. I'm a MAJOR picker of my kids.  Eye boogers, dirty ears, specks of food.  It's a problem since my kids are pretty much always covered in some grossness.

Is there something on my face?

8. The sound of a bug getting squished is the worst sound in the world.  Give me nails on a chalkboard before you squish a bug near me.  UGG!

9. We currently have 8 chicks.  We bought 10.  One died of natural causes...he was limp and gimpy one day, died the next.  We move on.  The other one....I killed.  I did.  I admit.  I put their water trough on top of it and didn't notice.  I'm a bad chick mommy.

"Did you hear about what she did to Ethel?"  "I know, it's just AWFUL!"

10. I have no concept of the notion that i'm not 18 anymore.  I feel like I am mentally...except i have this mortgage and car payment and groceries to buy and 1 husband, 3 little people, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and 10-no 8 chickies relying on me. I still like to shop in Juniors departments...but i'm trying to get over that one.  Who entrusted me with all of this responsibility?  Surely they were mistaken...I can't handle this madness!!

11.  And since i was looking through photos and saw this...you get a #11.  For Halloween Baby Owen was still tiny, so i planned to carry him in his wrap carrier.  He needed a costume too so i got really smart and cute and made us the tortoise and the hare!  Except not one person 'got it.'  They all thought i was a playboy bunny.  Because all sexy playboy bunnies carry their babies in carriers with them.  I don't understand people.

I Love Your BAG! {Cheeky Lime Rachel Cave Review}

So I have two addictions and neither of them are exactly on the cheap end of the spectrum...Camera lenses, and purses.  Most of the time my love of camera lenses turns a profit so i'm able to fund my purse addiction as well as further my lens collection...but i digress.  Every good camera totin' gal knows that the olde school Nikon brand or (shudder) Canon brand camera bags are made for men.  Plain black nylon, covered in zippers and nothingness.  So you see this is where my love of purses and camera lenses coincide...

Once i acquired more than 2 lenses, I was no longer able to carry my camera around with me on photo shoots and feel like they were protected...so off I went in search of a CUTE camera bag.  There are a few brands that have been around for a little while, and some new...most RIDICULOUSLY expensive.  Then I came across Cheeky Lime.  Yes...Cheeky Lime.  {My husband even loves that name}  Cheeky lime produces cute, stylish, affordable, and USEFUL camera bags.  When I first found them, I fell in love with their classic bag.  It was cute and i decided i HAD to get it.  Well then a few weeks later I caught a glimpse of their newly released bags...and I got uber excited!  If anyone knows me, then you probably know i'm in love with the grey and yellow color combo.  And this bag...well....this was it!  

I promptly saved my pesos and ordered it direct from their site with FREE shipping.  I waited and waited for it to arrive (no thanks to FEDEX who apparently likes things to sit in their warehouse for 2 days untouched by man).  Anyways...it arrived and i love it and i've used it to house and tote my camera ever since.  The bag is large enough for all of my equipment and then quite a bit more.  I've actually used it for camera bag and diaper bag when out before and it did the job.  The straps are comfortable and the padding on the bottom and all four sides makes me rest assured that all is safe and sound inside.  This bag is certainly worth the investment, especially considering the investment that it is protecting! The colors are great, inside and out.  The purple corduroy like fabric is thick and tough, the chevron is heavy duty as well and i've not had any problems with dirt or staining.  I imagine when i eventually get it messy after sitting it on the ground during photo shoots that it will easily wipe clean.  The 4 metal feet on the bottom certainly help with the cleanliness too.  The turquoise inside makes me happy and keeps things easy to find with the light color.  There are plenty of dividers inside to separate all of the lenses and flashes and camera bodies and such that come with this gig.

 And since modern science won't allow me to take a picture of my camera with my camera...a camera phone pic will suffice...AND my daughter got in on the action to give you an idea of the size.  She's 4 and full of attitude and wonder and anger and sweetness and hunger (OMG hunger).

So there you have it!  I love my Cheeky Lime bag!  If you are trying to find a camera bag for yourself then i seriously suggest looking into their products to find one that works for you.  

(oh and i was in no way paid for this or anything by Cheeky Lime...i just love their stuff.  But seriously, Cheeky Lime, if you wanna give me something that would be okay too)  :)

http://cheekylime.com/