Lightroom and crap

Sooooooo,
My mom had planned on getting me Lightroom for Christmas but they put out an offer for LR plus PS for $9.99 /mo-- which is a crazy good deal.
So I jumped on the offer myself-- and since I was already paying almost that every month for pic monkey, I didn't feel guilty!
[Here is a link to the offer if you are interested.]

I haven't even opened Photoshop yet because I have heard about it's complexity, and I have been making myself nutty already watching videos and trying to learn LR.

It is a lot.
Very time consuming.

And since I still don't even know how to take a great picture with my camera (that I bought 5 years ago), I certainly am not looking to take over the world of photography…
but I would like to be able to take fun pictures of my boys.
With something other than my coveted iPhone camera.
And to edit them.
To my own likings.
Whenever I want.

If you know me, however, I am an instant gratification kind of girl--
and I am getting very little gratification so far.
I like clean and clear pictures.
crisp and airy….
with little or no noise.
Which seems simple.

So far I have found that it is not...
That's a skill.
And it isn't on my radar yet.
As a matter of fact-- my people are still jaundiced in my after pics,
but I am learning.

So I am preparing you for a non stop trail of pictures of my boys…
dressed up and miserable.
Crappy pictures, out of focus
and over edits…. as I learn this.

There will probably be lots.
You were warned.

***
Yesterday we planned on going to watch the lighting of the Christmas tree but after 2 minutes in a field trying to get a few pictures…
I realized we would not last 2 hours in those arctic temperatures.

So instead we went to Cabela's and bought Christmas presents for the men…
And we went to dinner.

And then I spent the rest of my night playing with these pictures...

Really only 100% happy with that close up shot of Maddox...
And face-timing Candi for tips and tricks and help!

She hasn't even gotten grumpy one time yet-- and I have texted her no less than 2 million questions!
She even edited these 2 for me because I was so frustrated!

She is a gem like that!

***
Now, for the "crappy" part in the title-- I must update.
Beckham has not sported a diaper in over a week.
Which sounds like a "yay"…

Remember that Lance and him fought it out last Monday and then again on Wednesday… both times taking him right at an hour of sitting before he surrendered.
He sat for a little over TWO hours on Friday with me.
Which almost sounds like child abuse, but he wasn't crying-- we played with toys and I even fed him his lunch like a baby, from the toilet before he finally gave in.

I talked to his pediatrician on Saturday when I worked and she offered a potty psychologist consult-- which is nuts that they even exist-- and I declined.  I really think that we are right on the brink--
And at this point, I think I am going to have to stay with it and not go backwards to the diapers-- even if he cries and begs…
or takes 3 hours.
He has been "potty trained" now for four months except for the five minutes every other day that he sports the Pamper, and I think it is time we call this thing done--
however, I don't always have 2 hours to put into this so I have been a little anxious about it.

Tonight he asked to go.

He didn't mention the diaper, just grabbed the baseball potty out of the closet and sat down.
Maybe two minutes later, probably less, I popped my head in the door and asked if he was going and he said yes!
He had already pooped!

I was so proud…
We called Lance who praised him…
Maddox slid in for the high five…

And then Beckham went into the living room and crouched behind the recliner and pooped a little more in his underwear.      

In. his. underwear.
backwards.

So…
Do I stick with this new agenda, and go backwards to possible accidents??
Do I call that a fluke and just make him sit longer to assure that he is done-- but keep moving forward with the potty?
Do I just go back to the dang diapers where it is quick, confident and complete?
Do I call this potty psychologist?

What do I do with this crap?
Pun intended.

Maddox was exactly 2 and a half before he was completely potty trained…
so maybe I am asking too much?
Some doctors tell you not to even start the process until three.
THREE.
So if you compare him to that, he is a potting Einstein!

I guess I am going to try and push forward.

Here's to week two.

ICE 2013

People tell me all the time that I would be in trouble if I had a girl, because of the way I dress my boys.

But in my head, she would just wear a lot of Carters with matching bows-- because I don't think it is that hard to make a little girl look stylish.

When my boys will let me, however, I like to make them look as if they are auditioning for the GAP catalog.

Maddox would prefer to wear "soft pants" though, and Beckham would prefer to wear a hat that doesn't match anything we have… so these times are not as often as I would like them.

Since they looked so dang cute before ICE, in the skinny jeans that Lance can't believe I bought, I drug them out for a few pictures before we left!

And a few more with my cell phone…

because they're the most handsome things I have ever seen!

(I can say that... I birthed them)

And then on to ICE at the Gaylord.

Which I will be honest…

I hardly saw any of.

I didn't even realize it until I was defrosting my frozen fingertips and de-clothing everyone's layers, that I was so busy making sure everyone was accounted for in a sea of blue,

that I missed most every piece of chizzled ice.

I am sure it was nice.

It had to be…

Maddox even claimed that his favorite part was the iced out baby Jesus.

So there you go.

We went to El Fenix afterward with my Aunt Missy, Uncle Mike, my cousin Amber, and her two girls.

It was a site to be seen, no doubt.

First of all, Beckham was in rare form.

I am not sure if he accidentally fell into a bowl of methamphetamine or what, but that child wouldn't stop.

He was talking a million miles an hour, flicking beans on everyone near, dipping his chip into queso and then back into the chip basket, aggravating Kyleigh and Maddox and just being a rotten turd!

The waitress took a tumble just before she reached our table and half of our dinner went into the floor.

She was embarrassed, we were telling her it was okay, (secretly happy that my uncle's food made it since he would have been the one to get crazy) and Maddox kept asking, "but what happened?" over and over and over to a girl who already wanted to cry…

In the mean time, my cousins tiny baby reached up and got a packet of Sweet and Low and was eating it like it came from Gerber, and while Missy was trying to clean up that situation, she grabbed her tea glass and spilled it everywhere.

My aunt was lodged between the kids and looked like she was 3 seconds from a self inflicted butter knife wound ...and Lance and I still had no food.

Once everyone was finished, they finally brought us some nachos…

and comped them--

so you know this frugal diva was a-okay with that.

Beckham kept up his wild-ass ways on the way home, clicking his tongue over and over and poking Allison.

Maddox couldn't sleep and by midnight there was a family of four, all coughing and hacking, in my bed.

…

It sounds like we had a mess of a night.

But no.

ICE was definitely fun… and I honestly can not remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did at dinner!
Even if it was at my own misbehaved kids,
and starving husband!
And at the expense of my poor aunt!

ICE was a success...
I can not believe it is almost Christmas.

no complaints November

Tomorrow we are going to ICE.
Maddox has been giving a daily countdown for a few weeks.
I love being a mom.
I love planning this fun and exciting stuff for my kids.
I love that I married a man who loves family time like I do.
I love that I am a bargain-ista and was able to get our tickets half price!
We are obviously excited.

But to keep this little blog in order, I will document the last week at midnight, and get this thing up to date!

We have had the craziest weather… ranging from tank-tops to parkas and back, twice, in a 7 day span.
11/11
We spent the day at the park.
Our little neighbor who Maddox worships came with us and there happened to be 2 other little boys there to play as well.

11/12
It was cold.
I made loaded baked potato soup and snuggled up in my heating blanket.
Lance walked in the door with a few surprises, and we made a party on the back porch.
Pictures prove a festive and fun time--
but my memory recalls more work than fun!

...Keeping tiny fingers from the fire pit, calming the metal rod from slinging a marshmallow fireball across the group, hot chocolate being too warm, someone needing mittens, constantly going in and out, hustle and bustle-- all while I was on call.
Still, I was impressed by Lance's efforts.
Two and five is just busy.

11/13
We stayed home the entire day, lounged out watching movies and reading books.

Thursday we met Candace and Audrey to jump.

Chickfila and a haircut for Lance afterward.
I talked him into a more "hip" cut and I am kind of obsessed with it!

Friday my mom came over and Maddox talked her into taking him back home with her.
Of course Beckham wasn't going to let him go alone,
and mom snagged up Gunner and Ellie too, for the night.

Lance had softball games that night and it was too late of notice to get a girl's dinner together,
so I did something that I am not sure I have done since becoming a mom.
Nothing.

You know me well enough to know that I spent a little of my time cleaning…
I also renewed my CPR online.
But mostly I did not one thing at all.
…and it was quite lovely.

Saturday I worked.
Lance rode into FTW with his dad and I picked him up at the gun show when I got off.
We had lunch together on the way to mom's at Mexican Inn, and then made our way to the kids.
We ended up riding around their land and watching movies until midnight, before we finally went home.

Sunday Lance worked.
I was sick that entire morning but took a turn to better by 3:00.
Lance had his final softball game that evening, and I was looking forward to going.
They won the first game but lost the 2nd.

My sister drove out to watch (and by "watch" I mean watch me-- because we were playing the jack-hole who likes to talk ugly to my husband… and I was prepared to pull his ears right off of his head if he pulled any crap like he did the last time that they played each other.)
There was no ugliness though, so all was well.
Other than the loss, of course!

She stayed the night, and Monday was her 22nd birthday.

We spent the day on the couch watching movies and then met the whole family at The Olive Garden for dinner.

That evening Beckham and Lance fought the potty once again…
but this time, Lance finally won!

I have a bucket of cheap toys for little things like this and he picked a blue ball.
He has carried it around since and even woke up during the night crying for it last night!
We have praised and praised and praised…
Just crossing our fingers this is the start to something.

Today Lance was home by 3:00.
He played cars with the boys while I made a big dinner.

Unfortunately call was a mess so I didn't get to eat with them…
but my gem of a husband did clean the kitchen while I got caught up, so I can hardly complain.

Tomorrow is ICE…
We are totally stoked.

November has treated me well.
I have no complaints.