BIG. ;)

I wanted to address a question I get often. It involves why I push larger prints. Yes, I am a pusher. I don't have anthing in my house hanging up less than 11x14 in size. I know to many, 11x14 seems like a huge picture. But when you're comparing it to an entire wall, it's really not as big as it sounds! If you were to go looking for a piece of art for your home, you would not set out in search of a 5x7 or 8x10 oil painting, would you? No, you'd most likely go looking for something very large for impact. My portraits are designed to be printed BIG. They can be just as much an art piece as a painting or a landscape photograph. Really. If you want it 40x60, I can do that!
For instance....
This is cute.


But this is WOW.

Q & A week 4.

With all the craziness this week, I forgot to do this yesterday. Although all things considered, I don't think that a day late is 1/2 bad! ;)

I think it will be fairly obvious who asked the following question.

Who is the best aunt ever? Gonna have to plead the 5th on this one. My boys have two aunts that they love very much. Granted, one lives here and they see her at least once a week. She is a constant help to us and Grady especially has a very special bond with her. The other aunt we are not lucky enough to see very often, as she lives in Colorado. However, Grady says his prayers and remembers her every night, and he was the ring bearer in her wedding to my brother a year ago. She's kind enough not to hold his behavior at the ceremony against us. :)

And here's my "self" portrait for this week. It's not technically a SP since Grady actually took it with the aunt who submitted the previous question's camera. I think I have an assistant in the making! He was very happy to document my hospital stay!

Going home!

I am on my way outta here in the next few minutes! My levels are still high, but I convinced the Doc to let me go by promising not to do anything much today and just sit at home and go straight to the hemotologist in the AM for a blood draw. Hopefully the numbers will stabalize and we'll be on the road to normalcy. Thanks again for the well wishes. I'll be back to business soon!

Update: Monday Jan 26

Just a quickie update tonight as I am feeling a little discouraged, so I am going to escape into the world of a good book (how I had not read twilight before now, I do not know). I am still here. Bear with my next few sentences. I understand about as much as you do! Apparently, the coumadin and Lovanox they have been giving me have done the job....too well. A normal persons "numbers" would be like at a .9 or a 1. Mine need to be at 2-3 for discharge so they know I am not making any more clots. Right now, they are at 4.59. I thought this might be good, but apparently it's one of those "too much of a good thing" situations. At that number, even a small bump to the head or abdomen has the potential to cause internal bleeding which would be hard to stop. They have taken me off the drugs to stabilize my numbers and will start with a smaller dose soon. The Dr said that tomorrow, one of two things will happen. Either the coumadin will be coming down in my system and I'll be at a good, safe level to go home, OR it will continue to climb to a dangerously high level (as if a brain bleed does not sound dangerous). It's one of those drugs that takes a few days to work, so they need to see if I am peaked out at this point, or if it will be going up. If it goes up, I am stuck here at least until Weds.
So, that's the situation. I am trying to remember that this is all for my own good, but four days in the hospital has made me a little unreasonable. Thanks for your continued well wishes. It really does mean the world to me.

Update: Sunday Jan 25th

First, I want to send a shout out to my little brother. It's his birthday today! HAPPY 25th E!

I am doing well. Still in "lock up", but otherwise ok. I am hoping my blood levels will be where they need to be tomorrow so I can go home, but the nurse tonight told me she thinks probably Tuesday. I have found the nurses are usually more accurate than the Dr's when it comes to things like that, so I am preparing myself for a couple more days. Chris has been bringing the boys to see me and they are doing ok. Grady is confused and wanted to stay here with me last night. Fin is dong ok. He's normally a mama's boy though and when he came today he only wanted daddy. I know it's just because he's been with Chris more for the past 3 days, but it still made me yearn to go home and rock him to sleep tonight like we usually do. They have been charming the whole floor though. I am by far the youngest person up here, so a baby is like a breath of fresh air for the staff. They eat them up!
That's really all I have to report tonight. I am pretty tired as I have had a restless roommate for the past few nights. Thankfully she has been moved to a rehab center, so I am hoping for sleep tonight. Just praying they don't need to bring someone in at 3 am.
Here's some fun shots from a little mini session I had last weekend. These kids were so cute and personable. I could have shot them all day. It was the coldest day EVER, and the little girl only wanted to go get ice cream, she had me cracking up! All of their names start with "T". So here's "T,T,T and baby T"! Hope you enjoy your sneak peek, mommy! (And aunt L, because I know you're sitting at your computer hitting 'refresh'.

Update: Saturday Jan 24th.

Still here in the hospital and it is still the plan that I will remain until they can get my blood levels thinned to a level of 2.0-3.0 (not entirely sure what that means, but I am just running with it.) That can take 3-5 days. I am getting shots of lovanox every 12 hours and will be on the anti-coagulant drug coumadin for at least the next six months. My grandmother informed me that ALL her friends are on coumadin (yay, I have 80 year old woman meds).
Essentially they are still thinking this just came out of left field. The hemotologist has ordered genetic blood testing to see if this could be some kind of blood disorder. He still feels it is most likely just a freak thing though. I fit none of the profiles for pulmonary embolism: elderly(not yet), sedentary lifestyle(with two growing boys? Nope), smoker(nope), heavy drinker (some days I wish, but no) or just having traveled a long distance (again, some days I wish...). Everyone seems quite baffled by the whole thing. Even the ER doc who made the initial discovery saw Chris leaving the hospital last night and commented on how big of a shocker this was! I have also learned from the hemotologist that it appears there is not one, but two clots, one in each lung. Well, at least I'm keeping things even. ;)
Anyway, thanks to all for the calls and emails you have sent. I feel very lucky to have such great friends and clients. I know this isn't going to keep me down for long. I am already getting reeeaaaalll antsy here in the hospital.
And you didn't think I'd post twice in a row with no pics, did you?
Here's a delightful family from last weekend. They were one of my nominees for the giving is awesome contest I ran on my blog before Christmas. Their little girl, K, has a very rare disorder but she is a little angel. I am so so so glad I got to hang out with the entire "O" family for a short time. They really touched my life. Hope you like your sneak peek!



Mom and little "K"


The whole family. The two boys are twins. SO cute!


Little miss "M"

Some days, you get lucky.

Today was my day. Last night I began feeling a little sick. I had some pain in my stomach and a slight pain in my chest. I didn't think much of either and went to bed early. This morning I woke up, after a long night with Fin, who was throwing up. I went downstairs and told Chris I wasn't feeling well and asked him to stay home for a little while. I passed out and he woke me up and we decided to head to the ER. I was sure it was something simple, maybe a weird flu or at worst appendicitis.
After a series of tests, the doctors are still unsure what is causing my stomach pain. The ER doc decided to run a chest CT as well just to rule out that pain. Thankfully he did that! I have a pulmonary embolism and will be in the hospital for observation and treatment for the next 3-5 days. If you had a session schedule with me this week, you should have received an email. I will contact you to reschedule ASAP. I also have a couple of orders that will be delayed in going out.
I don't normally get quite so personal on my blag (although I do get personal) but if you are the praying type I would greatly appreciate your prayers. The doctors are very confident that I will be just fine, but we're all a little scared, since this is very rare in someone young with no other health issues.
I do feel lucky. If I had not come in today this could have been a lot worse. Good news is I will probably have a lot of spare time on my hands to proof sessions I have waiting in the ranks! So do check back for updates and some sneak peeks!

Q&A Week 3

Wow, these make me realize how fast time is flying! Another question this week from my sister in law, Katie.
Any good parenting tips on balancing life/ work/ marriage? Great question. And I'll fully admit that sometimes I am not the best at the whole balancing thing. To be fair, I am a full time stay at home mom (which everyone in that role knows is more than just full time) and I also spend about 40 hours a week on photography. I couldn't possibly do it all alone, and that's why I am thankful that we live close to both of our families. But there are a few things I have learned along the way that help me out.
1. You gotta let some things go.
My house is very rarely spotless. The boys sometimes go a little too long in between baths, and Grady is adept at spotting and naming local restaurants. Seriously. He's probably the only three year old I know that can ID the Red Lobster logo a mile away. I always pictured myself as having the house you could eat homemade meals off the floor in. My perfectly groomed children would always smell sweet and very rarely would they test limits or need time out. Yeah, right. That might {not} have happened if I hadn't added a full time job (which I love). But I adore my boys, and they know it. They don't mind if the dishes from this morning last night lunch yesterday are still in the sink. Toys on the living room floor are only that much more accessible. I don't have time anymore to worry about being the perfect parent.
We do what really need done and we let the rest go. We just have to. I occasionally feel guilty, but Grady usually takes care of that with an "I love you mommy!"
2. Say thanks. A lot.
This is another thing I don't do as well as I should, so I want to do it now. My fantastic husband has been nothing but supportive for the past three years. He never complains when he walks in and it looks like a bomb has gone off, the baby is sleeping too late in the afternoon, Grady is watching Thomas and I am in a computer induced coma trying to get a session proofed. He will just start putting away the piles of dishes and ask where we're going to dinner. I am really, really lucky to have him because I do know that not all husbands clean toilets and sweep floors without being asked. So thank you sweeties. I love you. And no ladies, you can't have him. He's mine.
3. Love each other more than anything else.
It's so simple really, but I think in the chaos of life so many people forget why they got married, or had kids, or even why they do what they do. It's about love. Passion. Something in your spouse or your job that used to make you get all goofy and mushy and nervous inside. That feeling you got when your little lump o' baby looked up at you for the first time and smiled and you were pretty sure it wasn't gas. When I feel like I can't handle wearing all my hats, I remember all those moments that brought me here and it really calms me down and puts things into perspective.
Well, I think that's probably enough sentimentality for the evening. Here's self portrait #3. My husband jokes that when I am working, I tone out literally everything else. So I tried to express that a bit in this one.

Check it out: Rosemary's closet.

I am always running across clothes I LOVE for little girls. This vendor in particular I wanted to share, because her Pinafore Dresses would be perfect for a session with me. They are 100% handmade and designed to last for a long time (first as a dress with bloomers and then as a tunic with leggings, jeans, or babylegs ). In fact, if you come to your next session with one of your children dressed in a pinafore from Rosemary's closet, I will give you a $35 print credit (which happens to be the cost of the pinafore). So go explore her shop. She also offers smocked dresses, pillowcase dresses, nursing covers and more.

Q & A Week 2

So it's week two of Q&A with me. My question this week comes from my sister in law, Katie. Actually she sent me quite a few, so you'll be hearing those answers for the next few weeks.

Who do the boys resemble? They are really a good mix of both of us, I think. Grady doesn't really resemble anyone in particular in either of the families. He's kind of got his own cute little look. Both boys have Chris' hair pattern and "butt-chin" (as he calls it) and they both look very much like me in the eyes and nose. Fin I think resembles my side of the family more closely. There are pictures that I take of him that look very much like me as a baby, but really I think he looks mostly like my dad. Chris and I joke that we look more like brother and sister than he and his sister do, so I think the kids just look like a better version of ourselves! I hear all the time that they look identical to each other. I agree that they definately look like brothers, but I Fin looks very different from Grady at this age, at least to me.

And my self portrait this week. I actully took this before I looked back at what the question for this week was going to be. Isn't it ironic?
This is me as a baby. I think I was about Fin's age or a little younger. I don't think there's any question as to why my boys are chunky babies ;)

Hmmmm. Are you sick of my kid yet?

I have been taking a little hiatus. January is historically a slower month for me so I have been hanging out with my boys and I didn't book any sessions for the past two weeks to give myself a little New Year breather. Anyway, there's a couple of things I needed to let you all know about and so here I am. ;)

1. I still have openings for Valentines Mini sessions this Friday between 9am and 11:30 am. The mini sessions aren't going over quite as I thought they would. I can not offer free minis anymore, but these are so close to free that it really is worth it. The session is $75, but an 8x10 is included, so when you deduct what that would cost you ($40 for those of you who may not have memorized my price list), it's a darn good deal! If no takers this month, I will skip next month and then try again in March, just for one last shot at it!

2. I am running a return client special until the end of the month. If you are a return client and you're planning on having a session with me this year, you can pay my old session fee of $100. You need to book and pay for the session by February 1, but it can take place any time in 2009. *only applies to standard sessions

3. I am feeling out intrest for a little class on taking better photos of your own family. I am estimating it would be sometime in March, and would cost $50-75 depending on the # of participants. As of yet, I only have a handful of people who've said they are in for this, so if you are please let me know so I can begin making plans.

4. Did you know I have a newsletter? If you don't yet get it, sign up for it in the sidebar on the top left. If you have signed up and you're not getting it, please check your SPAM folder or add courtneyvickersphotography@yahoo.com to your address book.

Ok, I know you're really here for the pictures. I have been posting a lot of Fin lately, but he's my only willing subject in the house, so he gets all the torture. ;)

Q&A week one!

OK, first off, I am going to need you all to send me a lot more questions. I think I have 8 so far, so for the next 8 weeks we're good to go, but you all may be subject to my ramblings for the other 44 weeks unless I get some more along the way! ;) So, I'll just go in order of how questions are received. First one comes from my friend Cindy!

Are you done having kids?
Ah. Wouldn't I like to know! There's definately a part of me that doesn't feel like we're done. However, we're enjoying our little family of four for at least another year or so and then we'll start thinking about it. We really like the age gap between Grady and Fin, and since we don't produce great sleepers, we need at least a year of solid sleep before we consider it. We do produce mighty cute kids, though! I have a friend who insists Chris and I should just keep having gorgeous babies as often as possible (pausing here to give Chris time to pass out).

And I have started another little project with some of my photographer friends, where I will be taking a self portrait every week for the next year. This week, I have been sick, and the only thing that looks nice on me right now are my feet, so feet it is.

Watcha wanna know?

In my quest to be a better blogger, I have decided that once a week I will be devoting a post to stuff you as my readers actually might (or might not) want to know. I do realize that I can be wordy, and sometimes you're just here for the pictures, but I have been told that I am actually a pretty good writer and I used to have a personal blog that I loved to just write random stuff on. I don't have time for an entire blog devoted to that anymore, but I want to incorporate some more of my life into this lil photo blog! So, here's your charge, loyal stalkers. Email me a question. It can be any question, be it photography related, random stuff you've always wondered about the Vickers family, questions about how I run my business, what I had for breakfast or really anything. Just please keep it clean and kind. Once a week I will select a question and answer it. I am hoping to get 52 questions so I can answer one a week. If I don't, you will be subject to my utterly random ramblings about anything I deem fit. Be afraid, be very afraid. So don't subject the next reader to that, help them out and email me a good one! courtneyvickersphotography@yahoo.com

I'll start on Wednesday.

Oh, and guess who's starting to get up on all fours?


Please excuse the boogie in his nose in this one. He's been a sick guy and I am too lazy tonight to Photoshop it.



Yep. I am in for it now.

As promised...

Here's the big sisters of Baby T. 3 year old twins, A and E. Don't have much time today, so I will just put up the pics with a few captions (collective sigh of relief here).

Miss E




Miss A- Her dad says she's the hard one to capture on the camera. I am always up for a challenge! ;)





I loved this one of the two of them. They were taking a break watching TV and I snuck in to see A put her arm around E and whisper in her ear. Man, twins are cool.



And this little series made me giddy. Nothing like a little girl and her daddy! And it's even better when there's two...







And finally one of them and their new little brother. What a lucky kid.

Happy New Year {baby}

What better way to ring in a new year than with a brand new baby? And when that baby is as chubby and sleepy as little "T", it really doesn't get any better. His little lips and cheeks were to DIE for. I had to get lots of close ups of those. Bonus: he's got 3 year old twin sisters who are enamored with him. I am giving them their own post tomorrow or Saturday, because I just think they need one all for themselves! Welcome to the world baby "T"!