Look Back and Laugh: Extended Puppy Pose

I made it all the way through my school days without ever sneaking out, but now that I am a mom I find myself mastering the art of quietly slipping away in order to not wake up a sleeping baby. I have to slide on my hands and knees across the floor. I feel like I am a secret agent and Z is a bomb, my heart pounds as I try to escape without setting off the bomb. l have learned where all the squeaky spots are on the hardwood, and a safe distance at which I can get up and walk away without disturbing him. This is our typical bedroom routine.

It's not always that bad, depending on how exhausted he is. The other night I laid him down and he contorted himself into the
extended puppy yoga pose (see example above) and conked right out. I was so humored by it that I had to share this with my husband.
Now, let me just say that my son does a lot of things that I don't attempt, (like sucking on his toes), so I don't know what possessed me to mimic his sleep position, but I did and I regret it. It went something like this:

I will be MM for Messy Mom and my husband will be meany.

MM: "Honey, you're not going to believe this, but Z laid down like this and went right to sleep."

Meany: "Oh yeah?"

MM: "Yeah, he had his butt sticking straight up in the air"

Meany: continues typing on his laptop

MM: "Honey, he was just like this, it was so funny, are you looking?"

Meany: Typing away as he mutters "yeah, that's funny"

MM: turns head and strains neck to see if Meany is actually looking "OWWWW, ow, ow! I just hurt my neck."

Meany: looks up from the computer

MM: "I am serious, I think I am stuck. Ahhh!"

Meany: "Now that's funny."

I would have smacked him if I could have moved.

Mom Appeal

I remember the days when being single was all the rage. Shows like Sex and the City and Friends exemplified this free wheeling childless lifestyle. Even the shows that did involve marriage or children still centered around the male lead, such as Everybody Loves Raymond. These days it seems like the pendelum has swung, and shows focused on the suburban mom are starting to be more typical, like Desperate Housewives, or In the Motherhood which premiered last week. All of sudden housewives and mothers are in vogue.

On top of the latest mom centered sitcoms are all the reality shows where the more kids there are, the more fascinating it gets. Take John and Kate Plus Eight for example, or there is a show that I have never seen called 18 Kids and Counting. The name keeps on changing because obviously they are “still counting”

Then there are the tabloid babies like Brad and Angelina’s clan and has anyone ever heard of the octomom? Yeah, I know you can’t escape her, and I told myself that this blog would be a safe place for people to come and be free of any mention of this woman, but I just broke my own rule.

So there you have it, moms, children, and babies taking the media by storm. However, for a lot of women life as mom doesn’t match up with what our TVs makes it out to be. There are those of us who are just regular moms, we aren’t having an affair with the gardener, and we have children that can be counted on one hand, or in my case, one finger. Although that certainly doesn’t mean there is any shortage of dramatic material.

So that is my topic this week. My own little reality series about being a real mom, and a messy mom, or sometimes a really messy mom.

Work In Progress

This week has been deemed my spring cleaning week and I did manage to get a lot done around the house, not that I expect it to stay that way. It's an ongoing resolve.

In the meantime, while I was busy keeping up with domestic projects, my husband was working on remodeling the laundry room.

He basically tore out the backside of our house. He worked around the clock, gutting, insulating, and reconstructing the room to make it more energy efficient as well as aesthetically pleasing. The current status is that the windows have been replaced and the hardy board is installed. There is still a lot left to do before it is complete, but we're off to a good start. Unfortunately my husband did injure his wrist in the midst of all the construction (which also includes a high demand building project at the church). He has been burning the wick at both ends. He does manual labor all day and uses most of his evenings and days off to put whatever is left of his blood, sweat, and tears into transforming a run down house into the perfect home for his family. It just reminds me of his commitment and fortitude as a provider, not to mention how sexy he looks wearing a tool belt.

Between the cleaning and rebuilding I feel a sense of accomplishment. There is a glimmer of hope that allows me to think that maybe we can do this, that our home can be our sanctuary. It's a work in progress though, just like me, just like all of us.

Cob Webs and Dust Bunnies

As a messy mom it seems that for some reason things that most people would notice are invisible to me UNTIL those people are around, then all of the sudden everything that is out of order in my home mysteriously comes to my attention. For example we will have friends over for dinner and in the middle of conversation I can't help but notice how much dust has accumulated on the light fixture.
How did this happen? I never saw it before? A dust storm must have blown through this afternoon.

For Z's birthday we had a bunch of people over and we brought a lamp into the living room while he was opening presents. When we turned it on it shown brightly overhead to expose the craftsmanship of a tiny spider that had been diligently weaving in the corner of our living room for who knows how long. It was lovely.

That is why this week I am trying to pay closer attention and turn on my "company eyes" the eyes that I only see with when we have company over. Today I worked really hard at dusting and wiping down all the furniture, ceiling fans, and light fixtures. I ran out of steam right about the time I started on the living room blinds, but a little bit is better than nada. I say that now, although someone will probably stop by this weekend and I will think "UH!!! those blinds are terrible!"

Sorting All Sorts of Things

Continuing on with the spring cleaning I have started sorting a lot of the junk that has accumulated in random places over time. We have a hutch that was given to us and it doesn't really serve too much of a purpose other than a catch all for things that don't have a place. Instead of a junk draw their is a whole piece of furniture dedicated to our paraphernalia. Until recently it was a mystery what was held in the deepest confines of the Hutch. If anyone watched season 1 of Lost there was a big cliff hanger at the end and every one was dying to know "WHAT'S IN THE HATCH?" That's kind of how this was for me except it was "WHAT'S IN THE HUTCH?" All of that is officially organized as well as my purse and our household socks.

I have been meaning to clean out my purse for a long time so I dumped it all on the table and threw away one receipt after the other, consolidated some of my make up, and realized that I didn't need 3 tubes of chap stick. This is what was in my purse before

And here is what I narrowed it down to.

Notice the missing keys. I can't imagine where they could be?


Next up is our stash of socks and we have a lot. I ran out of room in my closet so we consolidated all of our socks to one place and categorized them by color. We have used this system for 5 years now and it is one of the more organized aspects of our life. However, I can't remember the last time I went through and got rid of the old or mismatched socks so it was high time. Here is the bin after it's been reorganized


and here are the 39 individual socks that I am retiring as of today.

Ah, I feel so much lighter.

Works For Me Wednesday: Lemons

This week I am trying to be the not so messy mom as I work through my spring cleaning checklist. One big area is the kitchen. I have a fabulous built in wooden cutting board that my husband made. Wooden cutting boards are great because they are soft and so much better for your knives than other materials, they contain natural oils that can kill bacteria, and wood from fruit baring trees will add to the flavor of your cuisine, kind of like barrel aged wine. So obviously the wooden cutting board “works for me” the one problem I do have is that they have a tendency to retain odor. As a family that loves salmon this has become a problem.

That is until some friends of ours told us to try using lemon and see if it removed the salmon smell. So we rubbed a lemon over the cutting board let it sit for several minutes and removed it with hot water. Voila, the smell went from fish to fresh just like that and it stayed that way (until we had fish again). I have since looked into the lemon phenomenon and found that as an organic acid natural lemons can be used to disinfect, bleach, and clean all kinds of things. Run an empty dishwasher with lemon juice or put lemon rind in your garbage disposal for refreshing and deodorizing. If you like cleaning with vinegar, but aren’t a fan of the smell just add lemons. I guess you could say; if life gives you lemons, make lemonade and some natural and economical household cleaner.



For more Works For Me Wednesday posts go to "We are THAT family"
and if you have any other lemon uses please share, I would love to try them out!

Look Back and Laugh: Slave for a Day

Getting 3 kids ready for school in the morning is no easy task and I dread the day that I will reap what I have sown when my parents raised me. The morning would begin with the dim lights pouring in from the hallway as my mother would softly tell us that it was time to get up. Then the next round she would go through to each room abruptly flipping light switches and singing you gotta get up this morning to the tune of US military morning bugle call
(Listen Here)
Then would come the stripping of the blankets and nagging about the importance of getting to school on time. She even threw water on my brother a few times in order to get him out of bed. My problem was that once I was out of bed I would take too long to get ready. She would threaten that if I missed the bus I would have to be her personal slave for the day and I would have to work my fingers to the bone like little orphan Annie or Cinderella. She said that I would have so many chores that I would beg to go to school instead. So eventually that is what it came down to, I missed the bus and she was determined to teach me a lesson. I know it sounds like a something worth reporting to CPS, or at least a reason to be on the Dr. Phil show. However, slave day didn’t go quite as planned and we ended up having a lot of fun. This meant that my mom had to resort to other bribes/threats in order to get me to school. I guess it’s just a hard knock life for us.

Spring Break WOo h0O

We have now entered the official spring equinox and here in Texas there are some tell tale signs that a new season is upon us. The blue bonnets are just now starting to pop up along the freeway and my arch-nemesis, the ants, have started popping up around my house. While for many people this new season means Spring break, vacations, fun, and relaxation. I am at that in between stage in my life where I am no longer in school and I don't have school age children so there is no such thing as spring break. That's not to say that I won't be having any fun around here. It's time for spring cleaning and we all know what a blast that is.

Okay, so maybe it's not my idea of a good time, but I will definitely feel a lot better having dealt with the details of housework that so often go overlooked. I looked at some official spring cleaner checklists, but they didn't really work for me. Here are just a few examples from one of these lists:
Shine Silver
Scrub Patio furniture
Clean Chandeliers
I don't have any of these items so I guess that would be check, check, and check. At this rate I will be done in no time. That would be nice, but instead I have customized my own list to tend to what I know are the neglected areas of my home or personal belongings. For instance, all the trim in the house, the sock drawer, my purse and detailing the cars interior and kitchen appliances.
Now then, let's grab our yellow rubber gloves and spring into action.

The Contest Winner

Here it is, the grand finale of my first blog contest. I had planned on picking a winner first thing this morning, but it just hasn't happened and I have good reason. I was up VERY late spending quality time with my husband's family last night. In all honesty this means I spent several consecutive hours of playing Rock Band. It is amazing how a virtual game can take such a toll on your nonvirtual body. I feel like I really have been on tour, that is why I am out of it today, but I guess I do have to get back to real life where I am not a rock star. Anyway, now on to more important matters, the contest winner.

I used Random.org for choosing the winner and it came up with #26

That means that LYDIA from Little Toosks and Family is the lucky recipient of a $10 Amazon gift card. Congratulations Lydia!

I want to thank everyone for participating. It has been a lot of fun and I do plan on doing it again. Remember, if you are ever making any Amazon purchases you can click the link on this page and a small portion of your purchase will help to support this blog. Believe me, I will take all the support I can get. Thanks for stopping by, and I do hope you will come back for all the fun topics I have planned for this spring such as physical fitness, and a toddler world, as well as all the usual quirky stories that make up my life as...

Mute Math

For Thanksgiving in 2005 my family went down to New Orleans to do volunteer work after hurricane Katrina hit. We linked up with a church there called Victory Fellowship. Since Mute Math is one of my favorite bands I was well aware that this was their home church before they became a wildly successful Grammy nominated band.

The whole time we were there I would go on and on about how we were going to get to see Mute Math. When in all actuality there was no plan to see them at all, for all I knew they could have been on Tour in Europe, but I held out for the slight possibility of a star siting. Every time I brought it up I would get shut down by my family who started to get a little annoyed by my ramblings. We had been there for almost a week with no sign of Mute Math, but it wasn't over yet.

At the end of our trip the church had a special service for prayer and worship and we were given the option of participating. So we went and they had their local worship band playing, which was great, but then guess who showed up? That's right, Paul Meany and Darren King the singer and drummer of Mute Math. It was really cool, we got to meet and visit with them briefly and get some photos taken. This is not how I would have looked if this was all planned ahead, but I had been cleaning up after a hurricane all day so this is as good as it gets.

Here is my husband and brother with legendary Drummer and super nice guy Darren King.

I had seen Mute Math in concert several times. The Alternative Press labeled them as "One Band You Need To See Live Before You Die.” and they do put on a show like no other. Their latest EP Spotlight from the Twilight soundtrack is now available. Paul, Darren, if you are reading this, I am ready for a full length album. Thanks.

Another Lucky Moment

So far this week I have shared about winning a blog contest, winning a pet mouse, and winning movie tickets from blingo.com, however sometimes luck has nothing to do winning something. For example a couple months ago I was driving along when a cop comes from out of nowhere and pulls me over. I had just gotten a ticket back in August. I can't take defensive driving again, and it would be forced to go on my record. I panicked. I was so shaken up by the incident that when the officer approached my vehicle I couldn't figure out how to get my power windows down and I just kept locking and unlocking my doors while he stood there waiting.

He took my license and proof insurance back to his car and I just laid my head down on the steering wheel moaning. It seemed like he was taking a long time. I thought for sure I was doomed. When he came back to my car he asked me if I knew *Ms.Bentley? I smiled and said yes, but I was mostly just confused. Then he said "Well, she says hi. Have good day." and he left without issuing me a ticket. It turns out an old friend of mine now works as a 911 operator and she recognized my name when the officer called in the citation. So she pulled some strings and got me off the hook. I was so relieved. I told my husband what happened and how we needed to really pay attention to our speed because obviously the city is cracking down on drivers right now. He agreed and then got pulled over the next day! He can't say I didn't warn him.



*Names have been changed to protect all parties involved.

Blingo Winner

Since it's St. Patrick's day I am talking about luck this week and I am giving my readers a chance to get lucky with my first messy mom giveaway. If you haven’t already entered to win the $10 Amazon Gift card it’s not too late,
(The Messy Mom: WIN A $10 Amazon Gift Card)

If you like winning without spending you might want to consider checking out Blingo.com

It’s a search engine just like Google only they give out random prizes all day long. I can verify that this is a legit site because I actually won something. It's as simple as filling out your email address and a password, and it’s completely spam free. I got 2 free movie tickets and my husband and I had a nice night out courtesy of Blingo. They do offer larger prizes like ipods and cars. I am sure that your chances of winning those prizes are much smaller, but you never know it could be your lucky day.





This blog post is a part of Works for Me Wednesday over at "We are THAT family"

Look Back and Laugh: I won a mouse

In third grade our classroom had a pet mouse. It was a cute, fuzzy, black and white spotted one named Ralph. At the end of the year the mouse was going home with one lucky student whose name was drawn and I won! Truth be told it wasn't so much that I was won, it was more like I was the only student that had parents permission to bring home a pet mouse.

Ralph made a nice quite pet until the day he escaped his cage. We assumed that he was gone for good until weeks later I saw him scurry across the living room. We were able to coerce Ralph into an empty toilet paper tube and return him to his cage and we all rejoiced for the prodigal mouse's return. The end? Not quite.

We all started to notice Ralph putting on quite a bit of weight until the point that it became obvious that Ralph was more of a Ralphetta and SHE had gotten pregnant on her little adventure outside of the cage! We didn't realize we had a mouse problem, but let's just say one of those pesky little rodents "got lucky".

In the end Ralphetta had 12 babies and we let them all loose in a cemetery where we figured they wouldn't bother anybody.

THE END. For real this time.

Just My Luck

I recently blogged about a very unlucky week when it seemed like everything that could go wrong did. With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner I thought this would be a fitting time to turn things around and talk about some of the few times that I actually was the lucky one.

For example I won a blog contest once. It was on The Secret Life of Kat and I received a $10 itunes gift card. I was so excited! That was 6 months ago and I have only spent half of it. I guess I am incapable of squandering. Even with free gift cards I have to stretch every buck until all the elasticity is gone.

If you have read my last blog post you know that this time I am turning the tables and hosting my own give away. The winner will receive a $10 gift card to Amazon. Amazon has always been good to me. I have ordered lots of books and gifts through their site. Now that I have a blog I have become an Amazon affiliate and earn commissions through items that are purchased by clicking on the advertisement on this page. That is why I chose Amazon and I hope that everyone has fun with it. We'll see what happens at the end of the week. Have a happy St. Patrick's Day.

WIN A $10 Amazon Gift Card

This week I am hosting my very first blog contest. The lucky winner will receive a $10.00 gift card to Amazon.com.
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. If you subscribe to the messy mom or are already a reader leave a second comment and let me know, that way you will automatically be entered twice. The winner will be announced on Saturday and the Gift Card will be sent via email. GOOD LUCK!



Official Rules

All comments will be submitted as an entry.
Winner will be contacted either by blog link or email if provided.
To enter twice you can subscribe by RSS Feed located at the bottom of this page, become a follower, or add The Messy Mom to your blog roll and leave a 2nd comment telling me you did so.
No relatives of the messy mom will be permitted to enter (sorry family)
No rude or offensive comments please (sorry family)
Winner will be chosen at random by random.org

Memorable Weddings

As a wedding photographer I have had so many awesome opportunities to glimpse into the lives of people from many different backgrounds and have even developed some lasting friendships along the way. Here are just a few more memorable weddings that I have had the pleasure of photographing.

The largest wedding I worked at was an Indian wedding. The bride was college roommates with a friend of mine and the groom came in from India to marry her. There were around 700 guests and out of all the women there I was the only one not wearing a Sari. Everything was done on a grand scale and it was beautiful! The bride and groom have been happily married for 2 years now and we still keep in touch.

The smallest wedding I have ever photographed was held at a tiny little Pentecostal church. Their religion does not believe in women wearing make up, cutting their hair, or wearing pants, so it was definitely not what I was used to, but still beautiful nonetheless. There were only about 10 people there for this private ceremony. It was an intimate sacred time for the bride and groom and their families. The couple currently has a precious little girl and baby number 2 is on the way.

These are two extremes that I have seen in the size of weddings and the size of the bridal party vary just as much. The biggest wedding party that I have photographed had 24 attendants which all stood on the platform during the ceremony. Here is a photo of the groom surrounded by the 12 bridesmaids. The bride and groom now reside in California and have a newborn baby boy.
The most "media worthy" ceremony that I have photographed was that of an American Soldier and his bride. This particular photo was featured on Fox news and CNN. Their heart warming love story had news anchors from all over come out to film the ceremony. In 2004 the groom, was serving in Baghdad Iraq when he was hit by an explosion that left him with 3rd degree burns over 40% of his body. His girlfriend at the time pretended to be his fiance so that she could see him while he was in the ICU. When he woke up after being unconscious for several weeks they knew that although the engagement was originally a ploy, their love was not and they were married shortly after. Now 5 years later they are expecting their first baby, a little boy that I am certain will want to grow up to be brave and strong just like his daddy.


All the photos featured this week were taken by Memory Weaver Photography

THE END.

Just when the whole shebang is almost complete you have one more thing to consider for your wedding day and that is how you will celebrate the final good bye.

Some popular options include blowing bubbles or throwing flower pedals. This is a simple and sweet way to send off the happy couple.

If it is at night not much is going to show up other than sparklers, which makes for a great exit, but I would suggest having supervision especially if the guests have been drinking.


I have also seen guests throw confetti or party poppers. These are very festive, relatively inexpensive options, but a hassle to clean up.

Some venues don’t allow you to throw anything. In this case one of my all time favorite bridal exits was with noise makers. This idea is brought to you by fellow blogger, Chelsey over at the rhine life whom I met 3 years ago when I photographed her wedding. Guests where given whistles, clappers, bells and all sorts of brightly colored noise makers to bid farewell to the bride and groom.

Then there is the vehicle, which doesn’t have to be fancy, lots of couples leave in their own car which is often decorated courtesy of the bridal party. Although, some people choose a more regal escort such as a limousine or rolls rouse.

I have had some of my clients leave in hummers. One bride had to have some help getting into a truck with some monster tires on it!

Then there was the golf course wedding where the couple drove off into the night on a golf cart.


Whatever style you choose to go out with on your wedding day isn't really that important. You are about to embark on an incredible journey whether by luxury vehicle, truck, or golf cart it's a wild ride!

It's A Toss-Up...

One of the rowdiest moments of a wedding reception is often the bouquet and garter toss.
This tradition originated in France in the fourteenth century when the bride was considered to be good luck. At the end of the ceremony guest would tear off pieces of the brides dress in hopes of bringing themselves good fortune. This custom gradually became more and more brutal, until one clever bride decided to toss her flowers as a token of luck to those eyeing her garment and the crowd was satisfied. The ritual eventually evolved into what we now know as the bouquet and garter toss.

I have witnessed multiple occasions where no one has caught the bouquet or garter. In this situation usually they either throw it again, or someone picks it up off the floor and claims the prize. It’s a little anti climatic, but it does happen.

On the other hand there are times when two or more people catch it, like with these girls here.



This particular tug of war went on for quite a while before the bridesmaid ended up with full custody of the bouquet and humbly accepted the title as next to marry.

The guys can be even more competitive. Here is a dog pile of around 20 single men ready to duke it out for the lacy leg band.



If wedding day brawls aren’t your thing some brides choose to pass on their bouquet in a more civil manner to someone they want to honor, or to a married couple whose relationship is an inspiration. There is also a type of bouquet that splits off in several directions so that there is more than one winner.

Whatever way you decide to bestow these symbols it is just one more kodak moment to add to the many you have on the happiest day of your life.

Let Them Eat Cake

Being a wedding photographer can be stressful for sure, but it does have it's perks, like the cake. I love wedding cake. Not all wedding cakes are created equal, but I have tried over 50 different kinds in my lifetime and I have noticed that they are progressively improving. Not only in the presentation, but the taste as well. It is an important aspect of the wedding.Here are some things to consider when choosing a cake

1. The flavor
Typically the wedding cake is vanilla and the grooms cake is chocolate or something more exotic, but it's your day and there are no rules, so pick what you like. Just remember that no matter how beautiful your cake is, cakes are like people, it's what's on the inside that counts.
2. The Look
Now that we have established that taste does matter let's talk decor. There was a time not too long ago when if it wasn't white it wasn't a wedding cake, but those days are over. The cake should match your own personal style. What your wedding dress is to the ceremony, your cake is to your reception, so make it count!
3. The cake topper
Once again, cake toppers are as unique as the couple getting married. Anything that can fit on top can become a topper. The latest trends seem to be flowers or a monogram letter of the grooms last name, although some opt for a more humorous route like a figurine of bride catching a groom with a fishing pole.

4. The grooms cake
Usually the groom has VERY little to do with any of the wedding planning and decor. The grooms cake is a way of throwing him a bone, it is a cake that represents the groom. I have seen a lot of fraternity and sports themed cakes. The last wedding I photographed had key lime pie slices in honor of the grooms favorite dessert. When it comes to grooms cake, all I know is that I can't get enough of those tuxedo strawberries.

5. The size
Cakes are pricey, but there are ways around selling all your possessions in order to afford one. Sometimes there are some layers that are made of foam, but are covered with icing. Watch out for this though, I have seen a few couple try to cut into the fake layers! Cup cake towers are also becoming more popular, so instead of having enough cake to feed everyone you just have a small decorative cake along with some precut sheet cake or gourmet cups cakes. Don't feel bad if you can't get the cake you want in a size big enough to feed hundreds. Just make sure you have some other kind of filler, like cookies or a chocolate fountain. My take on it is that it isn't a tragedy if you run out of cake, but it is if you don't have enough dessert!


This blog post is a part of Works for Me Wednesday over at "We are THAT family"

All photos are by Memory Weaver Photography