Maternity Self Portraits

Earl Grey Tea coloring (ONE OF MY FAV shots)

Soft Dewberry Glaze coloring

Soft Strawberry Glaze coloring

Regular adjustments but I love how I accidently cut off my head :)

Regular adjustments but it accidently didn't focus completely but I like it!

Me and my girl with the Orton effect action

Here are some of my favorite self portraits I took today... I've been needing some maternity pics other than just snapshots. Let me know what you think. I just want to thank CoffeeShop's blog for some of the actions that I used.

imperfect vision

So my husband and I went and both got an eye exam on Saturday... I am about to lose my 2nd insurance and he hasn't been feeling great, headaches, nausea because of focus issues. Well come to find out he has a stigmatism in his right eye and now he needs to wear glasses most of the time. He is kind of depressed about it and actually feels like he is getting older now. I'm kind of surprised it took him this long to have eye problems because it runs in his family. His mom is legally blind in one eye and almost in the other, let's just say she had glasses at the age of 3.

I tried to make him feel better by telling him that he looks sexy in them. He really does and can't wait for his glasses to come in. I told him I was worried that all the other women at work would think the same thing and he wouldn't be able to fight them off.... maybe when he wears them everyone at work will think he is more professional looking and not just a young guy.

I have always had perfect vision and this time he said I had a slight refractory error in my left eye. He went ahead and wrote me a prescription for glasses that would be optional for me. I have always wanted to wear glasses ever since I was a kid. Of course when we were trying on glasses I would first pick up the most expensive frames there were. They were black and pink thick frames that are Baby Phat brand. They were super cute and comfortable. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get them until my husband changes his plan in Novemeber. Right now we don't have a plan for vision, just eye exams.... I feel like I look super smart in glasses.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? (these are just someone's reading glasses)

Today at the park

So my 4 year old daughter and I went to the park today and of course I took my camera along. The picture of me is one she took with my camera. I was amazed at how good it looks considering I didn't crop it at all, I just touched up my no-make up face with pimples :)

I made a collage of all the pics I took of her. I'm trying to practice making collages so... this was really my first stab at it.

2 Week's Notice

So my husband and I decided it was time for me to stay at home again so I gave my 2 week's notice at work today. We have been trying to get to a point where I could quit anyway but we were hoping that I could work up till when I had the baby so I could have my 2nd insurance to cover the complete medical bills that I would incur. It really didn't work out as lovely as we had first planned. Here's how it all kinda started:

You see my mother in law watches my little girl everyday. Don't get me wrong I love my MIL and all but ever since school has let out and she has to keep her all day all week it seems like she started slacking in the caretaking ability. The first thing that bothered me was she was coming home EVERYDAY all banged up and damaged. She said she fell one day but she came home with a fat lip and it was purple and black all under the top lip and was fat for 2 days. When it first happened she didn't even know she hit it. Evidently she wasn't watching her very good to know it and why did it even happen in the first place. I don't like the idea of her playing outside by herself for extended periods of time without supervision. She said she checks on her about every 10 or 15 minutes but that is too long for me when she is just 4 and not fenced in... there are perverts in this world and who could snatch her up in a minute flat. I guess I think the worse but I am and have been real protective of her always and she has never got banged up like that in my supervision. She said kids get cuts and bruises... that was her defense.

I left yesterday morning and asked her to make sure she gets a bath and make sure she washes her hair and body.... specifically I asked those things. You see since it's the summer she'd rather take a shower or bath in the morning like mommy and daddy so that is why I never get a chance to do it, because I'm at work when she gets up. Well when I got home yesterday evening the shampoo wasn't in the tub and I knew she had a bath. I asked her did you not wash her hair and she said No. I flipped out... who considers a bath of just sitting in water not washing hair and body a bath? That's more like swimming and playing. Every now and then skipping a bath might be okay but she has a very sensitive area and if you don't wash it everyday it gets VERY irritated from pee and such. She has told me a few times that Grandma forgot to give her a bath... I kind of blew it off until now. I just feel like I'm the only one who can take care of her properly. She doesn't make sure she is fed right either. I hear about all the junk she eats and how she really didn't eat good that day... well I wonder why. You need to put your foot down as a caregiver and say no to things sometime and make deals with the kid, that is what we have to do.

And I asked Athena if she wanted mama to stay home everyday with her and not go to work and she said YES... so that just melted my heart. I balled because I was so upset about her well being yesterday so my husband finally put his foot down and told me to give my notice and quit. He looked at the bills and they are definitely going to be tight for awhile, at least until he is able to get his raise after the first of the year when the freeze is up. I'm hoping that now that I can spend most of my time with my photography business that it will take off and help us out with the bills, or at least buy us food. I have recently started a myspace photography site until I can actually afford to get a real webpage. It is www.myspace.com/wendyclabornphotography so check it out if you're bored. I'm also hoping that the band my husband is trying to get together will take off and start making money soon. I offered to promote the band and try to book some of their gigs when they got a little tighter as a band once they knew all of the singer's songs. I'd get anywhere from 5-10% of the booking if I booked the show so that would help too.

WISH ME LUCK!

BTW... yesterday was my 7 year wedding anniversary and it sucked. It was extremely hot at work because the AC wasn't working right and I come home and have to cook and deal with the MIL drama. My eyes were still dry, irritated and swollen today from crying the night before. What an anniversary, and to top it off I didn't get any lovin' :(

My Cousin's Wedding

So I offered to take pictures at my cousin's wedding this weekend. They couldn't afford to hire a photographer and so I thought I'd offer as my gift to them. Keep in mind this is only my 2nd wedding EVER to take pictures at and my first was with a 35 mm camera several years ago. Here are some of my favorite from the day.

It's a.....

So we had our Ultrasound today and we finally found out what we are having. I just want to say EVERYONE thought it was going to be a boy, including the chinese gender calendars except for my little girl. She always said it was a baby girl/baby sister. Well take a look at the pictures for yourself and tell me what you think..

IT'S A BOY! Immediately after she put the thing on my belly the first picture to pop up was of his legs spread. Usually that is the shot that is the hardest to get. He was however stubborn when it came to showing his face. The tech kept trying to look at his umbilical insertion but he was laying face down on his tummy so it made it very difficult and he would not move for anything. I think he's already being lazy and sleeping all the time. I still think my 4 year-old-daughter is still in denial. She won't admit it's a boy and still calls it her baby sister.

We already have a name picked out and it's super unique. I just want to explain the reasoning first. You see my daughter's name is Athena and it is from greek mythology. Well in mythology her brother's name is Ares pronounced like Aries the sign. I thought it was only appropriate to name him that because of the "A" name of course and the connection from the two. So his name will be Aries Orion Claborn. I love it and think it's creative. If it was going to be a girl we finally decided on Sophie but I'll name get to name a girl that because it's a boy and we are done having kids after this.

Is it a Boy or Girl?

So tomorrow is the big day, Ultrasound DAY!... Is it a boy or a girl. Everyone in my family and all of my friends think it is a boy... but my daughter is the ONLY one who thinks it's a girl. I tend to think it will be a girl because of family history but we are rooting for a little mama's boy. If someone refers to it as her little brother or a boy, she quickly corrects them and say no it's my baby sister and her name is going to be Hannah Montana. I just want to say NO it is not, if it's a girl we will probably name her Sophie (no middle name picked out yet). Wish me luck and I will post on here what it is as soon as I get home.

June Scentsy Promotion

 

 

Create your own fourth of July fireworks with Liberty, Scentsy's newest warmer. A star-spangled tribute to American folk art, Liberty's distressed tin star appliques are surrounded by a field of star-shaped vent holes that shine when the base is lit, highlighting the dimentional metal accents.

Liberty's hand-painted base features a dark denim blue top sponged over a lighter blue base coat. It's red-and-white striped lid with hand-painted "stitches" completes the American flag theme.

A unique blend of tropical coconut and musky patchouli with subtle green bottom notes, Coconut Palm will take you back to the beach on a hot summer after noon.


Enjoy this month’s fragrance at a 10% discount! See prices below.
Car Candle CC - CCP $2.70
Room Spray RS - CCP $7.20
Scentsy Bar SB - CCP $4.50
Scentsy Brick SK - CCP $18.00

Visit my Scentsy Biz link to the side or follow this link www.scentsy.com/2546

I feel blessed

I did it.... I finally ordered my seamless paper last night. I went with the 107" x 12 yards. I ordered super white, super black, and focus gray. I thought I would go with the basic colors for now and see how it worked and maybe later order a pink and blue and some brighter vibrant colors. I should get it delivered next Monday which is also my wedding anniversary. We have been married for 7 years now and it's still great. We are expecting our 2nd baby this year and in fact will find out what it is Thursday of this week. Monday is really a good day I guess because my husband is starting his new job within his company. Although he won't be getting a raise because the company is on a hiring freeze and also a freeze for any raises until the first of the year, this is a promotion and great opportunity. He will be a part of the core team which he says is like the Navy Seals of his company. They have access to everything and when people hear you're on the core team they are impressed. They told him today that he needed to get a passport because he may have to go out of the country sometime to other parts of the company worldwide... I'm so proud of him and hope that when he can get a raise it will be a big one because some say to request at least $60,000/year which is like almost doubling his salary now. I would love to stay home and do photography all day as my dream career.

Seamless Paper

I'm taking the plunge finally and going seamless paper. I am looking to order it by tonight. What colors would you suggest? I was thinking the basics: black, white, and gray. Also what size to most of you use? I was thinking 107" because my background stand is a little longer than 9 foot. Any suggestions would be appreciated. THANKS!

Vintage Earrings Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain has done it again with a step by step tutorial for making your own earrings. Very nifty and thrifty. They would make great gifts for anyone who's into fashion.
check it out! she's giving some away too!
Vintage Earrings Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!!!!

Father's Day on a budget

Father's Day is soon approaching and many of us are on a budget. Head on over to GO GRAHAM GO! and check out all the crafty and cheap ideas to give dad for this special day. I honestly love the pen/pencil holder made out of Popsicle sticks and customized. This idea is perfect for my 4 year-old daughter especially since my hubby can never find any pens when he needs them because she takes off with them and never brings them back or puts them back in the wrong place.

Cheezy joke of the day

So I have a cute little cheezy joke for ya:

If a squirrel went to college what would his favorite subject be?


PSYCHOLOGY because he just loves NUTS!

We were driving along on the way to work and seen a couple of squirrels and casually my husband mentions the Psychology thing and I thought it was funny. He made up his own joke and was actually funny. Well he normally has his own sense of humor if you knew him.

Printing services...

I took a chance this evening and chose my photo lab that will be printing my prints. I was just wondering if anyone has heard of Nations Photo Lab? It looks great and professional. They offer evaluation prints for up to 5 images to be printed for the new customer. Each image will be printed on both regular and metallic luster photo paper and each with color correction and without so I will be receiving a total of 20 8x10's to start with to see what type of printing I like better and it's not costing me anything but shipping of $7.00. They seem to be the best priced in most areas. If you don't use Nations, what lab do you use if you don't mind me asking? You can email me with info if you'd like. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.