Shut the Front Door!!

We are finally home and setlled back into a routine of normalcy to some extent. We had a wonderful time with everyone and it was great to have the kiddos meet everyone. Even with a sick one and some interesting family drama, we had a wonderful time and can't wait for next year.

K and I are "finished" with marriage counseling. Things have been going really well, we have had a lot of breakthroughs in communication and it has really allowed me to understand him much more than I ever could have imagined. We are in a very good place right now. :)

G's schedule is so screwed up from vacation. She is still up and refuses to go to bed. She will lay in there and play with her stuffed animals, talk and "sing" to herself. I swear, this girl is the ultimate in attention seekers. I am sure it has a lot to do with having 2 brothers and a sister and having our attention split between them all. But she has really become a showboat in the last month or so.

Funny story...

My cousin Sara has a saying that she uses when she is about to swear. Instead of saying shut the f**** up, she says Shut the Front Door! So, at the Hamptons house, we were all sitting around the table, laughing, ( me: not) drinking wine and just relaxing. I was in the middle of a gulp of propel when G suddenly, without any provocation said "Shut the Front Door!" I spit out everything in my mouth I was laughing so hard and of course, the rest of the room was too. With that crazy reaction, what 1 year old wouldn't repeat it for that much attention. Favorite. Saying. Ever. now. Ugh. At the grocery, at church...it is insane. Luckily, without context and an adult saying it before, most people just laugh because it is such a random thing to say, not knowingthat it is a substitute for a word that would not be funny coming out of a one year olds mouth.

So, I got a job. Granted, it is part time, nothing too exciting, but it allows me a lot of flexibility and gives me a reason to invest in more things to take pictures of the kiddos. I am an official photographer for a studio here. They are a small company, mainly weddings and portraits, but are very reputable and well paid. The owners saw a picture of N and V that I entered into a local art show to benefit childrens cancer research, bought the photograph for 2,000 bucks (!!!) and then asked me to bring by a portfolio to discuss my hours and pay. 2,000 would be nice to have in the pocket right about now, but it felt really good to see that money going to such a great cause.

I did a wedding last weekend, and for a beginner, I am really pleased with how everything turned out. Pretty cool. And, even better, I choose what jobs I want, and I can work around when K can be home with the kiddos and KN.

I need to get a shower and head to bed. G finally went down...or atleast she is quiet. Night.

sdg