36 Weeks

Putting this out there a little late! I wanted to wait until I had my maternity pictures to share AND I've been working on my health. When I got to the doctor on Friday my blood pressure was up and they had me lay down before taking it again. Thankfully it went back down. They did some blood work anyway and I go back tomorrow for another check up. If my blood pressure is still up I'll go twice a week, otherwise I can stick to once a week.

We also had an ultrasound sound. Check out those cheeks!

In other news, I'm 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. Whoa! I think maybe Miss. P wants to greet the world before her due date, just like her big sisters did. ;)

Pregnancy: 36 weeks

Weight Gain: I've started getting on the scale backwards so who knows.

Sleep: Broken up as usual. I generally wake up 2-4 times to use the bathroom, and each time I switch which side I am laying on. My hips get so sore if I lay on one for too long. That makes me feel old.

Gender: Girl

Name: Paige Taylor

Feeling: Tired. Sore. Done.

Health: Blood pressure has been up and down and up and down so that has been quite the mind game.

Belly: Getting bigger! And more in the way. Sometimes I forget just where it is an get it caught or end up places too small for me, haha. I've learned that getting around the laundry room has quite the complication involved.

What I am looking forward to: Labor and delivery. I don't know why, but I love being up there!

What I miss: Sleep. Not that I'll be getting more of that any time soon.

Now for some more maternity pictures, taken by the ever amazing House of Harkless.

Life & Lemons

Well. Things are crazy.

If you don't know me, or haven't caught one of my rare "I WORK THREE JOBS AND I'M TIRED" status'.... here is the sitch.

Yes, I work three jobs and I classify jobs by something I get paid for. :)

We'll start with what starts first in my day, since I really can't put them in order of importance or any of that. I love them all.

I am a paraprofessional in an Elementary School. What do I do? I pull small groups out of class and work with them on reading and math, trying to get them up to grade level. It is the closest I can get to being a teacher, with out actually having my own classroom.

I am a photographer. I am pretty sure I graduated from momtography over a year ago.  If you don't believe me, you can check me out here.

I am an author. That sounds way cooler than it is, because I'm not published or doing book tours or planning out the movie. I self-publish my own books but so far they've been doing pretty well.

Here is my Author Page on Amazon.

Anyway, this post is more about what is coming next. What now? School lets out on June 6th, which means we have FIVE days left. This summer will be different than any other I've had thus far. My girls will be staying in school and I'll be working from home. Photography keeps me plenty busy, for one, and I also need to work on the third book in my Exceptional series.

I also will not be going back to school in the Fall, at least full-time. I am going to be subbing 2-3 days a week and focusing on photography/writing/housework the other days. Right now I got to school from 9-3:30, get home with both girls around 4:30, and start up photography/book work until bedtime.

I am really looking forward to getting my work done during the day so that I can finally be a mom at night. I want to be able to cook dinner and play with my girls when they are home from school, not expect them to entertain themselves because I have work to do. I am looking forward to getting the cleaning done during the day so we are not scrambling on Saturday mornings. I am looking forward to being able to be more efficient in my other jobs, now that I will not be working full-time. Especially this summer, where I will have four whole days to work! I plan on keeping the girls home for Fun Fridays if I can. :)

This post has no pictures so it is boring, but I will have some of the girls coming up. Plus some party planning stuff for Molly's 3rd Birthday!

A few pictures

Here are a few pictures of the girls. Sorry if one or two has a watermark on it, I used them on my photography facebook page.

My little diva. She dressed herself for the pictures...

Miss. Molly | 19 months

Baby blues...



Brooke Lynn | 3 years

My plate is full.

But my stomach is not. [more on that in a moment]

To say that I am doing a lot is an understatement. Being home with the girls is a lot on its own. They are at the age where stepping away from them for a minute can mean shampoo on the carpet, hot chocolate mix on the couch, cream of wheat on the dog, and so on. This means that every day chores don't get done like they used to. The girls naps start at different times and I have about an hour from the time Brooke goes down until Molly gets up, which means shower and lunch!

It is fun but busy!

Then we add in the Photography business, which has been great. I love meeting new families and babies and capturing special moments in their life. It has been an awesome experience. Here is a picture from a recent shoot.

Then we add in work. I got a job as a cashier/hostess at a local Amish restaurant. It has been a ton of fun and I really love what I do. I go in around 5pm at night and sometime do not come home until 9:30. I have been working four days a week, plus most of the day Saturday so there goes the rest of my time!

Check out my awesome uniform.

Then we add in my hobbies. I like to read and write and I refuse to give that up! I try to find time for at least one of those each day. It keeps me sane and happy.

So why is my stomach empty? That was a bit of an exaggeration, but I joined Weight Watchers on Friday. I have been in a weight loss slump for the whole year now, and have actually gained some weight. Enough is enough! These 20 pounds are getting kicked out the door. With inspiration from my friend Ashley at The Stauffer Shenanigans and Alyssa at The Heystek Family... I think I can do this!

31 Days of Photos

I am doing this Photo challenge on FB, and I guess here too. :) I don't think I'll update every day like I will there, but I might include them in other posts or post my favorites.

So today's... who in their right mind asks a girl to pick ONE pair of favorite shoes? I think if you met me in person and got to know me, you would be shocked when you walking into my closet and saw my shoes. I have a lot of shoes, A LOT. And the majority of them are heels. So I couldn't possibly pick my favorite, so here are a few. I wear flip flops when I'm out with the girls, but for nights out or at church, I love to wear my heels. I like feeling tall. :)

Photography

See that over there? That is a POLL.

I know I have been vague about this photography thing and more of just "plugging" it. I think it is time I went a little deeper.

I have spent almost two years practicing, researching, and studying photography. I think that the beginning of a photography comes from a natural skill, something deep within you that knows just the right pose or that creative angle. You have to have it. But there is also skill building after that, which is what I've done. I had family and friends constantly encouraging me to taking it further that just my own girls and free sessions for friends. I decided that this summer would be THE summer.

I started a blog and a FB page, and have been working on my portfolio. The natural name for a photography business seems to be after the name of the photographer. I have a very common name, especially in my town. I changed it up a little with J.Miller Photography.

As I was building my portfolio I noticed that there is one specific door downtown that I am pulled to doing shoots. A simple, red door that I think might lead to an insurance agency, but I'm not sure. Here is a picture taken with that door, and I hope that there are many more to come!

The Sugar & Spice idea came from the fact that I have two girls and they pretty much define me most of the time. It is hard to remember that I am not only a mom 24/7. I have interests and passions and I matter. It is a cute name idea though.

Molly's 1 Year Pictures

I meant to post these a few days ago, but things got in the way. Specifically, my new photography business. If you haven't already, go check out my new blog and follow me! If you happen to be a local reader, let's chat. :)

News

You should click on this button and become a follower! ETA: Apparently my beautiful link doesn't work. The one on my sidebar does. So we'll cheat a little. ;) http://jmillerphotos.blogspot.com/





Big things happening in the Miller household.

Hobbies

As a stay at home mom I feel as though I need to have hobbies to hold on to any semblance of my sanity. Of course, the majority of my time is spent playing with the girls. Or rather, watching them play with each other while I follow behind and clean up their messes. But sometimes during naps or if they are with their grandparents, I find some time just to sit and do something for ME.

First, I LOVE to read. My goal for 2011 is to read 150 books. I have been keeping track of my progress on Goodreads and so far I have read 74 books! One more until I'm halfway. I get a TON of messages for book recommendations so I might start a mini book review blog here in a couple weeks, just so people can go there and see what I am reading. I LOVE to talk about books so feel free to email me anytime.

Another hobby I have is writing, which kind of goes hand in hand with my reading. The more I read, the more I want to write. For me, writing is just like reading and falling into a story. The imagination, the characters, the possibilities! I have started three books this year. I am pretty good at getting the story part out, it is the editing that gets me. I have two books that need to be edited and I am currently working on writing a third. I am not sure what I'll do with them. I could make them eBooks with Barnes and Noble and Amazon, so look out for that!

Lastly, my biggest hobby is probably Photography. I would LOVE to do this semi-professionally some day. I don't think I could handle shooting weddings or huge events, but I love doing families and children and just portraits in general. I am hoping someday in the near future I can take a few photography courses, but for now I take pictures for family and friends. Here is some of my work...

Be prepared for a lot of pictures in this post!