Foto Saturday :)

I just have two photos to share this week.  I downloaded some cool actions in photoshop and tried them out on my two favorite pictures.

Photo #1 straight out of the camera

Photo #1 with the "sunshine" action and "bring out the eyes" action

Photo #2 straight out of the camera

Photo #2 edit one...I can't remember what actions I used.  I know I did "bring out the eyes" and some levels/curves adjustments

Photo #2 with 1st edit and "sunshine" action

Photo #2 with "vintage" action

I've been playing around with photo editing for a LONG time and still have to play around with it.  I don't have the "professional" eye for how the photos should look in the end, I'm just doing them so they look decent to me :)

let me know what you think!  Or if you have any words of wisdom on photo editing, PLEASE share!!  I'm open to constructive criticism...just don't be too harsh with me :)

Uh oh!

With all the recent commotion involving Maddie's passport I forgot that yesterday was Friday.  I'll post this week's pictures tonight after Maddie goes to bed :)

We did receive Maddie's passport yesterday.  When I spoke with Frank from the passport office he told me we would receive it on Monday so I made plans to be home ALL DAY Monday so I wouldn't miss the FedEx guy.  I assumed they would require a signature for a passport.  Isn't that sort of a sensitive document?  Not that too many people could get away with using a child's passport, but still...hellloooo national security?  Maybe I'm too protective of this important piece of identification.  Please correct me if I'm wrong.  So, anyway...I went out my front door yesterday after noon-ish to bring my trash can back to the house after they collected the trash for the day.  When I opened the door a FedEx envelope fell in.  Yeah, the FedEx guy had just propped it up against my front door.  I was out of the house for about an hour yesterday morning but after that I was home.  I don't recall seeing anything at the front door when I came home so that means he probably just put it there without ringing the doorbell or anything (yes, this is what our FedEx guy does).  Aren't they supposed to ring the doorbell at least to let you know they're putting something there?  Our delivery guy must not be a people person.  He could atleast ring the bell then run.  Just let me know you put something there...

Oh well, at least we have the passport!  And the best part of the whole thing is that Eric gets to come home 2 days early :)  They already changed his ticket to come home on Thursday because we thought he was going to have to be home so we could get Maddie's passport taken care of that Friday with him present.  So it's all worked out nicely...

I took Maddie to the Little Gym again this morning.  She's been doing SO GREAT.  Last week I was wondering if she did so well because of the different instructor or if she was just getting used to the place.  Today I got my answer :)  She's just getting used to it and getting much more comfortable and confident.  The original instructor was back today and Maddie was giving her high fives and everything!  Maddie's has three major accomplishments for today.  First, she climbed the baby rock wall.  It's set at an angle to make it easier for babies to climb :)  In fact, she doesn't really have the whole concept of holding onto the hand holds or using them to step on...she just kind of climbed up and pretended they weren't there for the most part.  Her second accomplishment for today is doing a backwards roll.  She was fine with flipping over backwards and even gave a big "ta da" at the end.  Her third, and BIGGEST accomplishment is what she did on the beam today.  Let me backtrack a little first.  The first time I put Maddie up on the beam she was terrified of it and wouldn't move her feet.  Little by little I helped her become more confident on it and now she practically runs down the length of the beam (while I'm holding her hands).  She loves the attention she gets when she "jumps" off the end and gives a big "TA DA".  Today she was taking a few steps on it without me holding her hands :)  Then the biggest deal...she walked on her hands (wheelbarrow), into a forward roll, stood up on the beam, turned around, walked backwards to the end then jumped off!  We finished with a great big "TAAA DAAAA-ee" and everyone applauded her :)  I was so proud!  Next week Eric will be here to go with us and I know he's going to be amazed at what she can do.  I'm also going to see if he'll take some pictures of her so I can share with everyone.  I just can't take pictures when I'm there by myself because then there's no one to spot her...

The Passport Drama Comes to an End...

Isn't it crazy how you can talk to different people at the same office and get two completely different levels of customer service?  I've talked to three different people with the passport office and all three times I've gotten different answers.  The one supervisor I talked to was the most helpful but he was still telling me I needed to go get a court order authorizing...blah blah blah.  At least he was offering me suggestions as to how we could get Maddie's passport issued.  When I talked to the other two people they were just like "that's just the policy, there's nothing we can do" and didn't offer any additional help.  Those are the kind of people that frustrate me.  But they're probably supposed to say that to weed out the dishonest people or something.  So, anyway...the guy I talked to yesterday told me I was going to have to send a letter to the Charleston office requesting them to cancel Maddie's passport application and that I would have to reapply in person.  There was no guarantee I would have Maddie's birth certificate back in time which meant I would have to drive to Austin to get a certified copy of her birth certificate.  I was really depressed and basically was ready to give up and take a vacation somewhere else.  That's when my dear hubby took over :)  He took it up on himself to call the passport office to get the application cancelled (when I was told it had to be done in writing).  Then I got a call from a very nice man at the Charleston office telling me all Eric has to do is write a statement authorizing them to issue a passport to his minor child.  No notary involved, no getting a court order for anything, no driving to Austion to get another birth certificate, no spending an additional $157 to get the passport.  Now, if only this guy had answered the phone the first time I called we could've saved ourselves from DAYS of frustration and stress!  So this is where we are right now.  Eric's drafting the letter.  He's going to print it out, sign it, scan it and email it to me.  I'm then going to print it out and fax it to the Charleston office Attn Frank (my new angel!) and they will overnight her passport to us as soon as it's processed.  Ahhhhh.....sweet relief :)

Now I'm feeling refreshed and recharged and ready to get my house back in order for Eric to come home.  Up until today I was feeling pretty depressed about losing out on my chance to get away from the house for a while so it was making me lose motivation to do any cleaning...so now I have to play some serious catch up.  I was planning on going to the zoo today with Maddie but I cancelled that trip due to stress and anxiety and not wanting to leave the house.  I guess it's better that I cancelled that so now I can catch up on my cleaning!

The Passport

I went to get the mail today and there was an envelope from the passport agency!!  I was so excited and said, "Maddie....we got your passport!!!"  So I opened the envelope because I wanted to see her picture (isn't that the most important part of the passport?).  To my surprise there was no passport in the envelope :(  There was only a letter saying Eric needed to fill out a form and sign it and have it notarized in order for them to complete the passport process.  This was the same form I had already filled out and filled out the "special circumstances" block since Eric isn't able to get this form notarized or mailed to us.  I called the passport agency immediately and they told me what needs to happen in order for us to get Maddie's passport in time for our vacation in 13 days.  I'm not going to go into here, but let me just say it's going to cause an intense amount of stress for both me and Maddie (because she would have to accompany me to lawyer offices, courtrooms and passport agencies).  I'm still waiting to talk to Eric but at this point it looks like our vacation to Cozumel is going to have to be postponed :(  The good news is that when Eric comes home on Oct 10th he can get this form notarized and we can mail it in and we'll have Maddie's passport by the time we reschedule a vacation.  The bad news is that it's really depressing when you're a stay at home mom (who desperately needs a break from all things domestic) and you're less than two weeks from getting away from it all and then it gets pulled right out from under your feet. 

The Little Gym week 5

Maddie did INCREDIBLY today at the Little Gym!  Oh my goodness...she was like a new child :)  She had ZERO anxiety today!  She went in by herself and went right to the red mat where we start the class.  When the instructor opened the box of bells, she went right up there to get the bells (this is a FIRST!) and then she sat down right beside the instructor (a substitute this week...) while we sang the welcome song.  She wasn't shy about trying new things today.  The substitute instructor (Mr. Brian) was able to help her do things and she talked to him and smiled at him.  I was A.M.A.Z.E.D.  She even walked across the balance beam (with my help) and when she jumped off the end she gave a big "TAA  DAAA-ee".  The whole class heard her and clapped saying "yeah Maddie" and she just smiled.  No crying today!  She knew what to do on some of the mats, too.  She went to the "cheese wedge" and got into position for a forward roll.  She knew what to jump off of, but was kind enough to wait for Mommy to be in position to spot her before trying to jump (this is important because while she knows the concept for jumping she doesn't have the ability to get her feet off the ground just yet, resulting in her falling flat on her face). 

So, today was just the most amazing day for the Little Gym.  I like the other instructor but with the way Maddie responded to Mr. Brian I kind of wish he held a full time class...I would DEFINITELY switch!  Let's just pray it has more to do with her confidence building than it has to do with the instructor...we'll find out next week!

Foto Friday

I can safely post my Foto Friday pictures now since my camera battery is dead and there is no chance of taking more pictures today :)

So, here are some pictures from Saturday, September 19th through Friday, September 25th...

Trying to get a picture of Maddie's perfect little curl.  She's steadily getting more hair.  Maybe by the time she's 3 we'll be able to do something with it :)

Upside down girl!!

Uncle Guy came for a visit last weekend!  Maddie had a good time with him :)

I got out Maddie's potty chair.  We're not starting potty training, just thought she might get used to it if I get it out now...

She had a lot of fun playing with the potty.  I'm definitely NOT letting her make a habit of playing in the potty...this was just when I first took it out of the box!

Trying to figure out how to sit on it

Still can't quite get it.

Mommy had to put her on it the right way!

Deep in thought...wondering what Mommy is up to now :)

She got her feet in it and said "bath".  WOAH...no bath here!

Maddie has found that it's fun to explore new places.  She's been sqeezing herself into new spots, just checking things out :)  She sat back here for a few minutes "reading" her book.

Another fun new place to sit. 

So busy...

Thursday Random Ramblings

I'm jumping on the opportunity provided by Brooke to get all of my random thoughts out of my head...

First of all, I'm so fed up with this rainy weather!  I know we've been having a severe drought in Texas but these rainy days drain what little bit of energy I have left. 


It's been a full week since the yard has been taken care of and I wonder if they're going to come do it today. I did contact the landscaper and ask if they would use the push mower instead of their ride on mower.  Our yard just doesn't drain well and the ground will stay WET for days after the rain has stopped.  Because of this, the heavy riding mower the landscaper uses ends up ripping up the ground.  It's not nice...so I'm glad they're going to be gentler on the lawn (if they come today).

As of today there are only 16 days until Eric comes home again.  I'm so looking forward to getting a break!  It's so exhausting being a mom of a toddler.  Mine is a very well behaved toddler for the most part, but it's still a lot to handle.  Even when she's playing nicely by herself I still have to be paying attention.  I cook three meals a day, try to maintain a clean house (which is becoming more and more of a struggle these days), give a lot of attention to Maddie (she's been watching quite a bit of Noggin...) and still find the energy to have some "me" time that doesn't involve any of the above.  Hopefully when Eric's home this time he'll give me a day or two to sleep in and have no responsibilities :)


I'm pretty obsessive about checking the mail these days.  We applied for Maddie's passport at the beginning of September so I'm hoping it will come in soon.  We still have 19 days before we go to Cozumel so I know there's plenty of time...I just don't like leaving things til the last minute!  Also, if that passport doesn't come in, we'll have to cancel our trip.  Since I desperately need to get out of this house (see paragraph above) I'd like to see that passport so I know for sure we're going on vacation!

Ok, I have a TON more things on my mind but right now Maddie is pretty much driving me crazy whining in the high chair.  She doesn't want a drink, she doesn't want more bread, she doesn't want more turkey, she won't eat her peas, she only wants more cheese.  I swear this baby would eat cheese, and only cheese, for three meals a day if I let her!