life is so daily

{moving on up!}

(image: pinterest)

Starting Jan 1, I will be moving over to my new blogsite!  It was time to make a move.  My readership has grown quite a bit.  I have a huge following in China (just kidding), but I am picking up in readers.  Which makes me nervous that I use our first and last names (well the dang website address is thebettenhausens) in most posts.  I think that having some level of anonymity on the interwebs is important.  And I didn't want to necessarily make my blog private, since I didn't want to deal with password protection and giving that out to people.  Trust me, if your blog is password protected, I am probably not reading it, too much trouble.  I cant remember my password to my email account half the time, if you need that much security on your blog, then its not for me.  LOL!

I will still use our names, but not as blatantly obvious as it is right now.  Plus typepad is not the most optimal site for where I would like to go in 2012.  Its clunky, hard to use sometimes and hinky.  Also I have to pay per month, so that right there, makes it not worth it at all!  So I will probably keep this one up for a month or so (probably more, I will likely forget its even over here) and then it will be gone.  I will take the last few posts (prob just Decembers) and move them over as well. 

So come on over... I am still setting up!  But I think it will be good, real good!

www.tenilleb.com

See ya there!

 

{a very merry holiday card}

I love MINTED, love minted, love minted!  :)  Worth every penny. (tip: get a groupon for 50% off when they offer them! Makes the cards more affordable)
Merry Christmas to all! From our family to yours!

{merry merry merry}

So this holiday season has been so fun.  I was asked by a few friends to take their family photo this year.  How cool right?!?!? I love being able to get together with old friends and catch up and they get a few pics for their card.  win-win!  :)  A good friend of mine from my old work (who is also a for reals photographer, check her out here) asked if I could help her out for a New Year's card and of course I said yes.  We had a great time and I am sure that her husband was sick of us gossiping about Hoag by the end, but thats how we roll!  LOL!

Here are a few of my favorites of Astrid and her people.  :)

Happy Holidays Astrid!  love you guys!  -TB

{5 things I wish I had of known 5 years ago about becoming a Mom}

1.  I wish I had of known just how hard it is to get pregnant.  My goodness... I was all doe eyed thinking I was the most fertile thing next to the Goddess Aphrodite and taking every precaution in the book when we first got married.  Yeah, apparently all that wasn't needed.  It took us months and months to get pregnant with Reese.  Why I thought it would happen in the first month off birth control ala Teen Mom, is beyond me.

2.  I wish I had of known just how FREAKING tired I would be after having a baby.  OH MY GOSH... I think I would have just decided to be a teen mom (when I had energy to spare) because I have no energy to deal with her.  If I could nap all day long, I would.  I am busted.  :)

3.  I wish I had of known just how hard it would be to work full time and be a mom.  Yikes, that was hard.  No one was winning.  I wasn't an effective employee, or a wife or a mom, for that matter.  Life really sucked back then, I don't know why I thought it would be easy.  Granted the first 20 minutes of the day were awesome (before my bosses got to work and I could have my coffee in peace and check my emails) but after that blessed 20 minutes, all hell broke loose.  I had to grocery shop on my lunch hour and take care of things for everyone else, ALL THE TIME.  It was crazyness.  Hats off to my mom friends that work, keeping up the hustler's struggle.  You are my heros, for sure!

4.  Alone time!  What's that?  No further text needed here!

5.  Lastly, I wish I had of known just how cool it would be.  Granted there are days where that girl just drives me INSANE.  She's 2, she is doing her job!  But there are some fantastic, funny, awesome, awkward moments during the day that I would not trade in for the world.  No matter how many times I have to sing "I like bugs" (That's from Yo Gabba Gabba) I still love it.  She is one cool little girl and  this job has been the most amazing, fulfilling, difficult, life-changing and defining jobs I have ever had in my entire life.

Now for MY mom, who suffered thru hundreds of words to get to this picture...

{yeah, I'm climbing a tree... SO WHAT!?!?} - Reese, age 2 and hardcore as ever!

 

 

{getting ready}

Christmas, my child, is love in action. 

Dale Evans

{the nativity}

So Baron and I bought this Nativity set from Hallmark a few years back, with the intention of adding pieces to it as a tradition.  I thought that every year, after Christmas, we will buy more of the Willow Tree pieces when they go on sale.  Little did I know... Willow Tree items NEVER go on sale.  So we only have the vital pieces.  Which is Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  And come on... thats all you really need!  LOL! I can not bring myself to spend another $300 for the entire set.  Not going to happen. 

This year is the first year that Little Miss Fingers (AKA Reese) has noticed the nativity and has been rather smitten with it.  If the pieces arent pushed all the way back to the wall, well she gets her hands on them.  My mom was watching her a few weeks ago while Baron and I went to his office party and noticed she had a little sheep.  The convo went something like this...

Mom: Oh Reese, thats a really cute sheep you have!

Reese:  Baaaaaaa!

Mom: Yes, what a genious you are, that is exactly the sound sheeps make

Reese: Baaaaa!

About 20 minutes later my mom was making her way to our kitchen and noticed that the nativity looked very similar to that sheep that Reese was playing with.  By this time it had made it into the toy been.  It was found, no worries.  The Amber Alert for the sheep only lasted a few minutes. 

Everyday I walk past the nativity to find some fun additions that my family members have made to it.  Reese likes to add her toys to it, she figures if you cant beat em, join em!  So here is one of Reese's most recent contributions to our Nativity.

I guess the sheep do have to eat.  She is so sweet, sharing broccoli.  Don't worry, this was a toy broccoli.

Then just this morning I was walking to the kitchen and found this...

Now some may think that this a bit sacrilegious, but its all in good fun!  It was just random that Mom's margarita landed on this table next to the baby Jesus.  Hey it was a party right?

So there you have it, alittle sneak peak in to the Bettenhausen's Christmas decorations.  If Reese will leave my tree alone, I will get some pictures of it lit up and post them soon!  Oh the joys of toddlerhood!  :)

{some of my friends are bad ass}

This one right here is a bum fighting NINJA!  (hi-ya!) 

Seriously, this is Amanda of Amanda Jane Photography and she was on a shoot in the OC a few weeks ago and a bum tried to steal her gear.  She hit him and got her stuff back.  Pretty awesome if you ask me!  So last week I got a chance to shoot her family in the very spot where the hobo beatdown happened.  We had so much fun.  She is pretty stinking funny. 

I am so glad to have gotten an opportunity to get to know her and grow along side her as she grows her business and I delve more into my photography hobby.  So fun!

Here are some of her and her people!  LOVE IT!

It was a privledge Miss Amanda.  Let's hang soon.  :)

 

 

{its tough being a toddler}

RIGHHHTTT!  October and November have been phenominal for the Reester!  Here are some highlights...

Turned 2 (she made it to see 2 years old!  Hallelujua!)

- Went to Disneyland for the first time.  This is her on the teacups.  Old pro, an old pro!

We have been back a few times with friends!  Maybe one day she will warm up to the characters instead of freaking out and crying everytime!  LOL!

- Last weekend we went to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live!  I think my first concert was Whitney Houston and I was in junior high maybe high school.  Yes, Reese went to her first concert at 2.  What's wrong with this picture?  LOL!  But it was sooo much fun.  She danced her butt off with her friend Owenn.  Baron and I had a good time too, I have to admit.

And this weekend, we are starting to decorate for Christmas and getting going with the season.  The tree should be delivered sometime on the 5th of December!!! Soooo excited.  Reese is getting some good stuff.  Its going to be good, really good... I cant wait!

{thankful}

yep... we sure are! 

 

{who you gonna call?}

Ghostbusters!!!  Seriously, I used to love me some Ghostbusters, Freddie Kruger, Jason.  Today, you cant get me in a haunted house or to even watch a scary movie.  My heart cant take it!  LOL!  But when my homegirl Kamee June said she was doing a Halloween shoot, shooting ghosts (kid ghost at that), I jumped at the chance.  That place was seriously creepy, nestled in a newly developed neighborhood in Corona.  The location was totally random, but was really cool! 

So I hope you all enjoy your Hallow's Eve!  You never know what's lurking out there, so watch your back!  buahhhahaha!  (that was my scary laugh!)  LOL!