Happy New Year! 2012

In one hour we will say hello to 2012. I plan on being fast asleep by then hopefully. Campbell has been sleeping in bed with me the past couple of nights. He had a double ear infection and an upper respitory infection last week and was having trouble sleeping/breathing in his room. For some reason he can breath better in our room than in his, and yes, there are humidifiers in BOTH our rooms.

ANYWAY, I am excited for the New Year. It really is going to be a NEW year for me too. I am going change this year, you wait and see. I have big plans. Getting BirchLane up and going is one plan which I have already made big steps on. Got my website up and going (you can find it here). Ordered my first business cards today. Looked into some advertising options too with some KC magizines. I also opened my own bank account today. I did this mostly for the money that I make from all my photography. But I am also going to put a little chunk of my paycheck in there as well. I'm talking like 5% so not much, but just so there is always a little something going in. I want to save for a new iMac and a better camera. Also this year, I hope to be running my first 5K. This is of course going to be a great challenge for me. But I have the motivation and I will run and train as hard as I can. The Warrior Dash is only 5 months away now and my Dad wants to run a 5K in March on St. Patricks Day. So really I only have 3 months to make this happen. Support me if you can and help motivate me, because for some reason, Dave has a hard time knowing how to motivate me.

Anyway, I have lots of other goals/resolutions for this year, but it's getting late and I'm tired. Hopefully tomorrow I can blog about my first run of the new year. Oh man, I just remembered that there is a 5K going on tonight at midnight here in KC and it is windy as heck outside! I feel sorry for those guys.

BirchLane Photography

If you didn't already know, I am trying to kinda start up my own photography thing. I have a Facebook fan page here. I also finally got a website going. It's just a starter free one until I get enough in my BL account to pay the monthly rates on the ones where I get my own site name. So check me out here and pass me along to everyone you know. I'm ready to get started!

Christmas

Christmas was wonderful. I don't have a lot of time to post too much, so here are some pictures to just show you.

 Emery got a Barbie Dream House

 Grandma Denise with Campbell

 My sister, brother, Dad and me

 Andrew and Campbell

A pretty typical picture of the kids together.

Sorry

I know I have not been blogging a lot lately, but there honestly hasn't been a whole lot going on. Stay tuned though, our annual "3 Christmas's crammed into 2 Days" is coming up and there are always lots of pictures from that =)

To Early for New Years Resolutions??

During nap time at school today, I started writing down my New Years Resolutions. I think my sister likes to call them Goals. But, I thought really hard about them and tried to make them more realistic than 'Lose Weight'. So here is my list. For those of you that know me, I want to stick with these and feel free to encourage me at any point.

2012 New Years Resolutions

• Get BirchLane Photography up and running...website, advertising, 2 appts a month
• Read at LEAST 12 books
• Workout Regularly
• Run my 1st 5K
• Go on a REAL Vacation
• Learn a New Hobby
• Save $ for          -Retirement     -Kids College     -House     -Rainy Day
• Write Grandparents at least Once a Month w/ Pictures
• Cook Healthy Dinners (at least 3 times a week)
• Get Family Pictures Taken

Think that is enough for now? I really want to stick to these too. Any advise on how to succeed at any of these is welcome.

Santa/Zona

Emery and Santa still are not friends, but Campbell could care less.

I took Emery to Zona Rosa last night for some Mommy Daughter time. We walked everywhere! She wanted to ride in the horse drawn carriage so bad! But it was an hour long wait! So I bought her a big ole' lollipop instead and she forgot all about it. Zona was beautiful though with all the lights and all the people.

Breakfast with Santa

This post is almost a week late (sorry!) but better late than never! Last weekend I took the kids to our schools Breakfast with Santa. Grandma and Grandpa Fialka met us there (as they say, it's just not Christmas if they don't hear Emery scream at Santa). We ate doughnuts. Campbell sat with Santa, Emery watched from a distance. And we did some fun art before heading home.

Campbells Baptism

Campbell got baptized today! We are so proud of him and his sister. They both did so well during mass and then during the baptism. I don't remember it taking that long though other times I have seen baptisms but it didn't matter. Andrew was such a proud God parent. It really made me proud of my brother for taking this so seriously, which he really does. I know I'm using the word proud a lot, but that is just how I felt today. Here are some pics from today.

BirchLane photography is going strong still. I had another photo shoot today out in Kansas with one of the Family's from my center. I'm hoping they turned out good enough that she will show them off and talk me up to her neighbors and church friends so I can get some extra work!

Also, quick shout out to my best friend Leah for getting an amazing job! I can't think of anyone that deserves it more!

Christmas Time is Here!

I LOVE Christmas time! I love the decorations, the weather, the people (that are actually in a good mood). I actually put up my Christmas tree before Thanksgiving this year. I just couldn't help myself. It makes me happy.

Thanksgiving was awesome this year. Thursday morning, my brother, my Dad, his wife Denise and I ran/walked the Turkey Trot in Parkville. I think this is going to start being an annual thing we do which is great. Hopefully by next year, I will be able to run the whole 5K without stopping. Dave took the kids out to eat with his Dad and their family during the Trot. Later that night, we went to my Moms for Thanksgiving dinner with the Ryan family. Always a good time. Friday morning, Andrew and I went for a short run before heading out to my Dad and Denises house for the day. Dad made a delicious steak soup and my personal fav. ceasar salad! Then Denise and I went shopping at Dick's Sporting Goods for some winter running stuff for me! I am really excited for it to get cold and to try out all my awesome running stuff. The last family thing we do this weekend will be Campbells baptism on Sunday. Look for pics!

My Little Eskimo

At school, as long as it's over 28 degrees, we go outside. So I have been bundling up Emery a little extra because I don't want her to get sick. I had my camera with me the other day and she just looked so cute, I couldn't help but snap a picture.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Welp, I turned 27 today. And it was no different than any other day really. I went to work this morning but then Emery got a fever so I was sent home with her. I picked up Campbell along the way because he has an ear infection and I knew he was uncomfortable. So I was home with both kids. A bit of a perk though, my mom and step-dad came home from vacation and stopped by the house and took Emery for the afternoon. So I had the chance to clean the house up and address some X-Mas cards, thats right, I'm early. Dave's Dad took us out to eat tonight for my Birthday at Corner Cafe. Yum! I got the Corner Melt which I never get because it's so bad for you. And I got a piece of Platte County Pie for dessert. In the middle of dinner though, Campbells ears started hurting, so we had to cut dinner short to get him home. Dave bought me some beautiful flowers today too.

So really, not too bad of a birthday. I actually could not have pictured a better one.

I Don't Have an Ego, I Just Have Beautiful Babies

Huge thanks to my friend Kinsi Walker for taking these beautiful pics of Campbell when he was 4 weeks old. If you are interested in getting pictures taken by her, you can find her website here. I'm not crazy for putting her on here when I'm trying to start up my own thing. She is a good friend who has helped me out a lot so I help her when I can. Enjoy the pics!

Simply Impressed

I have just had the best Christmas Card ordering experience ever.

I bought a thing off LivingSocial. I paid $15 for $40 worth of greeting cards from simplytoimpress.com.

Of course I checked out the sight first to make sure I would like the cards they had, and I loved all of them! So this was def. the deal for me. I made my cards on Wednesday and ordered them, only paid $8.00 in shipping, and they arrived today!! (Saturday)! Not only did they arrive so soon, but just look at how they arrived! It was like opening a little present for myself. I am so impressed with this site, they have my business next year as well.

Holiday Trash Talk

To get you up to speed on this, let me give you a little backround before I start showing what was said. I told my family I was going to do the Fun Run/Walk at the Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving. My Dad and his wife Denise wanted to walk too because Dad said he was not quite ready for a 5K yet. My brother Andrew then wanted to join us. But he wants to run the 5K. He tried to get my Dad to run it too, but Dad declined his offer and came up with other plans.....so here ya go....(this is all in e-mail between Dad, Denise, Andrew and me.)

Me: Ok, I'm walking too. We can wave at Andrew as he passes by us.


Dad: Or maybe we need to have a ‘little pre-race party’ at our house Wednesday evening,     think shots but don’t say anything.....


Andrew: Make sure you guys get a nice look at my butt before it gets too far ahead of you. And no cheating by getting me drunk the night before! 


Denise: Sounds like a plan.


Dad: Damn Erin can’t keep her mouth shut...haha...Jim Beam shots anyone?


Me: I didn't say anything Dad! Are you sure this e-mail isn't going to Andrew too?


Dad: Hope so


Denise: I’m thinking we need to get Steve Kiley involved…..his shots knocked made Tom Jorgenson miss Christmas!


Andrew: I'm locking my door the night of the 23rd


Denise: Oh please…..we have ways…….


Dad: I love holiday trash talk, can't wait


Me: I have to blog this..

"Like" Me

This morning I created a Facebook Fan page for BirchLane Photography. Check it out, along with some of the pictures I'v gotten to take so far, and "Like" me. You can find my page here.

Im A Busy Lady Okay!

Sorry I have not posted in awhile. This past week and weekend were packed with sick kids, conferences, and photoshoots. But I have a little time now so I wanted to share some of everything. 

Emery was "sick" for awhile. I quote "sick" because she never acted like she was. Tuesday she got sent home with a fever. She was acting like herself though the rest of the night and the next day. Wednesday night however, she threw up in bed. All day Thursday, she was herself, eating, jumping on her trampoline, ect...Again last night, Emery threw up in bed. But this time I didn't say anything to daycare because I needed to work, Dave needed to work, and I honestly think she just ate something funny.

I got to meet my brothers girlfriend last night. Her name is Katie and she is from Georgia. I really liked her. I'm glad too because I think sometimes I'm protective of Andrew and am quick to judge his girlfriends. Though I will say, I was dead on with one of them....but I won't go in to detail with it. Anyway, she's so cute with her little Georgia accent and red hair. 

I also had my first photo shoot with BirchLane Photography. Luckily, the photo shoot was for my friend Laura so there was a little bit of pressure there but was also a little more comfortable. We went to Loose Park in the afternoon and everyone did wonderful. I still have a lot to learn though. Sometimes I wish that I would have gotten the more expensive camera that I wanted, I think I just have more to work with with the camera I already have. So, anyway, here is a little sneak peak at the photos we took.

Princess Pirate

 Getting ready to head to my works Fall Festival, Emery had a different shoe preference for her costume.

Aaarrrgggg!!! She makes a cute pirate!

Finding the Perfect Fit

Check back Monday night for Halloween Pics!!!

Okay on with what I'm going to write about in this one. Ever since I decided to start running, I have run one day and thats it. I tried to get up one morning and run, only to find that there are no street lights in my neighborhood. 9HWY is more lit than my street! So now I have been looking into different types of exercise that are indoors that I can join until this winter crap is over. I need something that has lots of cardio since that is what the Warrior Dash is all about. I've looked at Jazzersize, Zumba classes, boxing classes and I guess that's really it. What else is out there that I don't know about? Jazzersize is expensive so I don't think I can do that, and I can't find a Zumba class up north that is close to my house. Title Boxing is really close to my house, but that is REALLY expensive! I'll have to figure something out though if I'm going to make this work. Idealy, I would like something that is at 5am so I can get my workout done and be at work on time. Or something that is late enough in the evening where I can still see my kids for a bit before bed, though I'd rather just get it out of the way in the morning. I'll have to find something or this Warrior Dash is going to make me look like a fool!

Birch Lane Photography

This is the name I have come up with for the day I open my own photography business. Birch lane is the street I grew up on and have tons of fun memories from and since I will probably be taking mostly children's pictures, I found this name befitting. To kind of build up a small portfolio and put my name out there, I thought about posting on my facebook something like, For $40 I'll come to your location and take a variety of family pictures, edit them, and put them on a CD for you to use for Xmas cards. That way, I make a few bucks, get my name out there, and get some pictures in my portfolio. It's kind of scary trying to start up something like this. But I mean, how long have I been dreaming about this. What do you think?

Something Exciting

I started something exciting and life changing today. But I'm not going to tell you for 7 more months. And when I do tell, it's going to be in your face!

Ole' Wives Tale

Mr. Campbell could not sleep real sound last night because he he was so congested. Not the kind in your nose, but the kind that you need to cough up that's in your throat. We had already tried steam showers so I was ready for anything. My friend Leah always mentions to me that she puts vicks on her kids feet. Not only does she use it on her kid, but her and her husband do it too when they can't breath well. So, I tried it. And it SO WORKED! He cleared up enough to finally get some good sleep. I am a little concerned though with his cough because it's sounding kind of croup like so we have a Dr. appt for today.

Because of the lack of sleep Campbell got last night and I got, I didn't wake up in time to run this morning. So when Dave get's home from work and Emery goes down for her nap, I'm going to the track close to my house and doing my 1st week of Couch to 5K. I bought the app for it last night on my iPod and can't wait to try it out. I had done the Couch to 5K program before, but it was so hard to keep looking at my watch to see when I needed to run and when I needed to walk. With this app, it will pause my music and tell me when to walk and when to run and when we are done! I. Can't. Wait! It also got really great reviews. I also have a Nike+ iPod thing for my shoes to help show the distance I am running. But it's not working right now. I think I need a new sensor. This will help me see how far I am running since my iPod can't track that without internet. It will also keep all that information online so I can see my progress. Who's proud of me? Okay maybe not yet, but you will be.

Training

So here I am, getting ready to train for the Warrior Dash. I looked up some stuff online, thinking I was really going to need to work on my strength, and all I kept reading was endurance, endurance, endurance. So now I'm thinking I need to be able to run a lot further than just 3.11 miles. Here is my problem though. I work from 7am to 6pm 4 days a week. The one day a week I have off, I have both kids. If I just had Emery, it wouldn't be hard. I could put her in the jogging stroller and be off. But Campbell is too small for that. By the time Dave get's home on my day off, I'm so wore out, all I want to do is go to bed! Same for the days that I am working. So now that I am writing this, I sound like such a whiner. If I'm not going to get up at 4am and walk/run, then I'd better do it when I get home. Huh, I guess it just took me getting it out on "paper" to figure it out. Well if anyone else has any suggestions on how to train for this thing with limited time, let me know!

Wii Battles

Emery LOVES to play the Wii! Her current favorite game is the sword game on Wii Resort. I'm not exactly sure how much of it she understands, but she's really good at swinging that sword!

Bed Time

Why is getting to bed on time impossible? I feel like every night I try to make it a goal to be in bed by 9:30 and asleep by 10:00. Yet here I am, at almost 11 o'clock writing on my blog about bed! Everyone else is asleep. I will be the first one to wake up so I can get everyone else up and moving. What is going to get me to bed on time? AHH!

Did I Really Just Sign Up For The Warrior Dash???

 Yes, yes I did. Am I crazy? I think you have to be a little bit to do this.  If you have never heard of the Warrior Dash, it's basically a 5K with 12 crazy obstacles along the way. These obstacles include jumping over fire, crawling in a mud pit under a barbwire net, and walking along a tight rope over a body of water. What makes all these worth it? Well, at the end of the race you get a free beer, always nice, and you have the option to donate your gross post race shoes to people that don't have any shoes (of course they clean them up before giving them out). So I basically have to get on the ball now for this race. May 5th is not that far away and I'm not sure I could even run a mile right now, let alone haul myself up a 10 ft. wall. So there is a lot of running and working out in my future but I'm excited for it. If you are interested in the Warrior Dash and want to know if it's in your city, you can find out here.

Growl-O-Ween

Despite what you think about Reese not being a part of the family anymore, she always is. One thing we like to do every year for Halloween is dress up Reese and take her with us. This year, a friend gave us their old dog costume for Reese to use. And ya know, it's perfect!

1st Laugh of the Morning

Emery came into our room this morning with a book for us to read to her. As I read her the book, Dave got up to get into the shower. While he was in the shower, Emery lost interest in the book and wanted to turn on the light in the room. So I asked her to go flip the switch, knowing she couldn't reach it. She tried for a min. then walked out of the room. I thought she had lost interest again and started getting out of bed to follow her, when I heard this loud metal banging noise against the stairs. I ran out of our room and looked down the stairs, and there was Emery, dragging her metal art chair up the stairs so she could reach the light switch. I started laughing so hard. I hope this ingenuity carries through into her adulthood.

Mini Glitter Pumpkins

 Are these not the cutest things ever?! And we MADE them. Such an easy idea to do at home with your kids.

WHAT YOU NEED: Glue, Paint Brush, Mini Pumpkin, Glitter, Catching Tray and hair spray

 Using the paintbrush, slightly spread glue all over the pumpkin. Hold the pumpkin over the catching tray by the stem and sprinkle glitter evenly all over the pumpkin. Let fully dry. Spray pumpkin with hairspray to keep glitter from getting everywhere.

Back to School

Finally settling down at home after my first day back to work after a little over 6 weeks at home with Campbell. I prepared for the worst. I thought I would cry this morning when I dropped him off with the babysitter, but I didn't. I held strong. I even kept it together at work all day and only called the babysitter twice to check up. It wasn't so hard this time around.

It was really great back at work. All the parents welcomed me back and couldn't believe I was back so soon. I think they all prob. get 3 months paid maternity leave. We however, a child care center that is all about the kids, gives no paid maternity leave. I was actually suppose to take another 2 weeks off because of my c-section, but couldn't afford it. ANYWAY, my kids were great today! I was so happy to see them and meet the new ones that came into the room while I was gone. Also, after a whole year of begging, our classroom finally got a printer! We have a lot of work to do in the room to get it up to par, but I am happy and excited to be back.

Getting back into the routine was a little rough this morning. Making sure Emery had all her stuff, Campbell had all his stuff and Dave and I both had all our stuff was exhausting. Then I tried to try the showering in the morning bit. Ya, I got it done, but had to get up way to early to do it so, showering at night it is. Dave and I got to carpool this morning to take Campbell to the babysitter for the first time but tomorrow we are each in their own car. Dave will take Campbell to the babysitter before work at 8 and Emery and I are due at work by 7am. BUT, Emery and I get to pick Campbell up after work! Picking up my kids is the best part of my day!

Speaking of school and Emery, guess who got to visit the preschool room today! Emery did such a wonderful job in there today. Even when she saw me in the other room, she said hi, gave me a hug and went back into her preschool room. I can't wait to see how much she advances from this new room. Yay!

I'm Baaaaack!

Well, so long Emery blog, hello Wear family Blog. Yes, it is no longer all about just my little girl. It is now about all of us.

So, on August 17th, my second child, Campbell was born. It was a scheduled c-section so we knew it was coming. Emery stayed with her Mimi and Papa the night before and went to the Royals game. Dave and I were at the hospital by 5:30am. Of course I was a hot mess the whole time because of my first birth experience. When in the surgery room, I was so scared and shaking and almost in tears. But the nurses were great and kept me calm. I didn't feel a thing. When Campbell came out, all the doctors and nurses kept saying how big he was. 9 lbs 14oz. big!

Campbell is the complete opposite of how Emery was when she was a baby. He likes the binky, he is sensitive to what I eat through my breast milk, he likes to be swaddled super tight and he HATES his car seat.

I actually start back to work tomorrow and I am super nervous. Campbell is going to the same lady that use to watch Emery before she came to work with me. The fact that he is a little more difficult that Emery was makes me nervous for him.  I love my job, but sometimes I wish I could just stay home with my kids, even though I know that it's better for them to be in school for socializing and stuff. And it's good for me because I feel all I do at home with him is eat.

After I had Campbell I instantly lost 40lbs! It was amazing. I looked good, I felt good....Ah. I have been trying to keep it off plus lose more. Not trying super hard quite yet though because I still have my chocolate binges sometimes. But I really want to fun a 5K next spring. I want to be the runner I use to be. I'll work on it.

I have also decided to start trying to start up my photography business. I have the name picked out and the camera picked out. I don't think finding the clients will be hard, I think finding the time to shoot them will be hard. With my job and my kids, I would only be able to do Sunday morning shoots. So that is what I have so far with that. But I am excited to be taking the first steps towards my dream of being a photographer.

Well, I hope to keep up with this blog a lot better than I kept up with my first one.