Jaden's Video: Drinking Ducks

Here is the first video Jaden has taken.  I have been practicing photography tips with her.  She decided she wanted to do videos, too.  This is the result.  I could not explain to her just how unsteady her shooting was.  She will need more practice.  She stayed focused on the ducks, but her hands did not hold the camera steady enough. 

4-H has several specialized training manuals that teach just about everything!  Jaden is working on the photography curriculum.  =)

Lifetime Firsts: Photos in the Texas Wild Flowers

The wildflowers were so much fun!!  Most of the photos I took of the girls were natural shots.  Morgan was facinated by the flowers, as you can see in the bottom picture.  She kept holding them gently and sniffing them,  Jaden was facinated by the butterflies, so she kept trying to catch them.  The photo of Jaden with her big dimple is when she was catching butterflies. 

God's creations are so awesome!! 

Love These Faces!

Have you noticed I love taking pictures of my girls?!  I really need to take some photography classes, and get a real camera.  Since I do not have the money for either, I make do with what I have... and I never miss an opportunity for a photo.   I think Jaden and Morgan will appreciate it as they get older, too.  I can't get back this time- I can only enjoy it as it happens and tuck it away as a memory with my photos.  I am soaking up every moment!!

Vote for Jaden & Morgan in Gap's Casting Call

I entered Jaden & Morgan in Gap's Casting Call. Now, they need your votes! You can vote once a day for each girl. You can vote every day until the contest ends. Spread the word, and get them a professional photo shoot, $500 Gap gift card, and Disney items. All you have to do is click to vote and spread the word to as many as possible! Thanks!!!

This is Morgan's Link:
http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/kidscan/539532865/
This is Jaden's Link:
http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/kidscan/919532465/

If you have a problem with the links, you can search for the girls by typing in their contestant IDs:

Morgan M.
Baby Girl
ID: 539532865

Jaden M.
Girl
ID: 919532465

All 20 finalists will receive:
Professional Gap photo shoot
$500 Gap GiftCard redeemable for a babyGap or GapKids wardrobe
Deluxe Disney gift bags:
Jonas Brothers' Lines, Vines and Trying Times CD>
Demi Lovato's Here We Go Again CD>
A special selection of books from Disney Press>
A 20" Winnie the Pooh Plush from DisneyStore.com>
Disney Movie Club DVD Prize package including Bolt,WALL-E and Mary Poppins 45th Anniversary Special Edition>

In addition to the finalist prizes, the four winners will receive:
Their photo featured in babyGap and GapKids windows nationwide in February 2010
$500 Gap GiftCard redeemable for a babyGap or GapKids wardrobe
A VIP experience for four at Disney's THE LION KING in New York or Las Vegas

Saying Good-bye to the Hospital

I sat in my office at the hospital on Sunday, and took this picture of the equiptment I used- as a final good-bye. I am anxiously waiting to start my new job, so that we can get some money saved up and get bills taken care of... I still do not have a start date with the new company, so that is driving me CRAZY!!! 3 weeks ago I was told I would probably be able to start within 1 month's time... But, I am still waiting. The company started in California, and then, decided to set up another office here in Texas. They have been open for 6 months, but do not yet have a single file to be worked!!! The reason for this is the legalities of the contracts, and the owner is spending practically all day and all night getting everything finalized. Once the contracts are set, I will be able to come on board...

In the meantime, I will just sit here and wait patiently (yeah, right!!!)

Letters from my Babies

Jaden drew this picture of our family in our home (above). I am not sure (and neither is Jaden) who she was drawing in the picture below.
(below) You can see the envelopes that Jaden's pictures came in, including one that says "Mommy". Morgan drew the other smaller picture of Daddy.
The girls gave me these "letters" to open at work. I was so busy with 30 babies all needing pictures, but when I stopped to open there letters, it cheered me up and reminded me why I do what I do.

Morgan's 2 1/2 milestone snap shots

Morgan looks especially grown up in last picture. Time is moving WAY TOO fast!

Jaden's 5 year old picture

Until I can take the girls to the hospital to get pictures with the professional camera, I wanted to do a few when Jaden turned 5. So, these pictures are on my crummy camera, and she is not wearing anything exciting... But, I think her smile makes them beautiful :0)

My traveling workspace

For those of you who have never seen my job at the hospital, here it is! This cart has a computer, 2 cameras, catalogs, samples, and a printer. I take this cart from room to room to take the pictures. I use a Nikon D-60 for the photos. After I takes the photos of the baby/baby & siblings/baby & parents, I hook up the camera to the computer and can show the parents the pictures instantly. The parents choose from 8 poses what they want to order, and I place their order using the computer on the cart. Pretty exciting, huh?

Wearing down

I am quickly wearing down. I used to enjoy the challenge & the excitement of the photography/hospital job... BUT, after working every day (8 to 13 hours per day), I am tired of it. Since it is a sales position, I have to put on a happy face, be chipper, and friendly... All I want to do is close my eyes and go to sleep! I have to drag myself into each room, which of course is not good for sales...
I have been training some new people, but of the 3 of them, I don't know if any of them will be able to hold onto the job. These are my trainees:

1. Trainee number one worked for the company before. She did the house to house sales of the pictures. She said that she made approx. $1000 a week doing this. When asked why she isn't doing it any more, she said: "Well, I worked on my own going house to house all week. I had to show up every Wednesday to turn in my paperwork and sales. I was fired because I was late to work every Wednesday." (The only day she had to show up, and she was late every time?!?!?)

2. Trainee number two appears to be under-age, but she says that her oldest child is 8 Years old. She has been over an hour late to work every day, and when she gets here, she is ready for lunch. She doesn't pay attention to the training, she just talks about how she stayed out late the night before and the new items she has bought (cell phone, clothes, whatever). She, also, smokes and doesn't do well between cigarette breaks... So she is angry most of the time.

3. Trainee number 3 is always early to work and eager to learn. She would make a great employee, except... She may have TB??? (She told me this after I spent the whole week with her). Both of her TB tests came back positive, so she has to get an exray of her chest on Monday to see if she in contagious... In the meantime, she is still expected to work (I find this very strange, if not illegal). If it comes back showing she is contagious, it could be a law suit against the company I am thinking... For any of the babies and others she exposed to TB.

So, now you see why I am not so optomistic about the new employees. Who hired these people anyway?

Looking forward

Did I mention that I will have a new job shortly? I am looking forward to it. I was given the job offer on Tuesday. Now, I am going through all of the new hire stuff while, also, working 7 days a week at the hospital job.
The new job is a contract merchandising position for Disney. It comes with perks for those employees that produce. Maybe I can get some cool DVD's for the girls :0)
I will be merchandising their DVD's, as well as some of Sony's DVD's in 10 stores in my area. Travel time, mileage, and work time is compensated. I am not sure when I will start because the new hire process is a lengthy one. Tomorrow I get to do the drug screen, and over the weekend, I will fill out all of the paperwork. Hopefully, I will be able to start next week... Now, if I can just get some people trained at the hospital, so I can have some days off... so I can work at the new job!!
Thank you for your prayers, as it was a week of waiting to find out if I would even be offered the position!!

Sooooo tired

I am wearing myself out. I am working EVERY day of the week right now. I am so blessed to have a mother that is willing to watch my girls while I put in these hours!!! I am ready for the break in the work, but I have to take advantage of the extra work while I can... Change is coming... Hold on :0)

Anti-social

I feel so run-down & anti-social right now. I went to an interview on Monday for a new job. I am praying hard that I get it. I can't do this photography job much longer. I have been working every day, and when I get my pay check, there is hardly anything to show for it. The job was supposed to be a great commissioned job, but now, with the economy, not so much. It is hard to get people to buy pictures now. Almost everyone is saying they can't even afford our smallest package of $29.95, which incidentally, I would get a commission of $7 for!!! Now, since everyone in the district's sales our down, all of our checks are down. If the hourly rate is higher than the commissioned rate, it reverts to hourly... The hourly rate is the minimum wage for the state!!!

Because of all of this, I am not feeling my best. I am worn down & broke. Looking for a better part-time job to have more time with my kids and more money to pay the bills.

I guess I will be seeing more babies...

at the hospital. Don't more women go into labor on a full moon, or is that just a myth?

Still no word on my missing money

I still do not know when I will see the money that was missing from my pay check. I sent off the discrepancies to my supervisor, but she does not have any information for me. In fact, she doesn't even respond to my calls!! So, that's great... Now, I have to go into work tomorrow for this place... I sure do not have the energy to bust my behind for them!!! Do I have to go in? :0(

Pay Check Woes

Commission-based jobs can be hard to live off of. I do know this, but I still had hope for my job with Our365. My hopes fizzled out today.
This is what happened. Every day I work, I set goals for myself on how much I think I can do in sales. A few weeks ago, I decided to shoot for a record $1000 in sales in one day. I walked out that day with sales of $982!! (the usual sales for a photographer at the hospital is any where from nothing to about $400, so that was a big feat). After that day, I just knew I could do the same the next day. The next day, I hit $650 in sales, but since it was a holiday, I, also, got hourly pay (so it came out to the same amount I had made the day before).
At this point, I was pumped, and excited to get my first BIG check. So, imagine my surprise when instead of getting a bigger check than normal, I got the same kind of check I always get!!! I was shorted over $500 on my check!!!
Of course, the check is not right, and it will have to be corrected by pay roll, but who knows how long that will take!!!
They have been asking me to pick up extra days, but I don't want to do that until I know I will get paid for them!!
It should make me feel better to know that I wasn't the only one whose check they messed up. The other 3 girls that work at my hospital were shorted, too. It doesn't make me feel better, though... I feel bad for all of us!!!

Baby Photography

I wish I could show off the photos of the cute babies that I take. Unfortunately, they are under lock and key. There are some really precious ones. I feel very blessed to have my mom (and sometimes the girls' cousins) available to help watch the girls while I work. I have picked up some extra days, and have been working hard. Now, I am training a new photographer, and that may be my new position. The company has gone through a transition that caused some people to be let go and others to quit. That has led to massive hiring streaks, and a need for trainers. Oh, yeah, so if you need a job...

I am so out of touch

I have realized, though I am taking work as I want to, I am working more now than ever before. I guess because when I come home, my work doesn't end (online reports to submit, book sales, and ebay sales). I am just now sending the "thank you"s for Morgan's party that happened at the end of January!! It is really just so over-whelming. Next week, I was intending to fill it up with work days as well, but I think, instead, I need to take a break. Right now, as it stands, I would have 4 days off... So, if I take those 4 days off, maybe I can get caught up on a few things in the house. Anyway, I know this isn't interesting chatter, but it explains why I am not responding to e-mails & posting as regularly as I used to. Maybe next week...

Strange!

Ok, so a couple of days ago I said that there are weird things that go on in the maternity ward... Well, I just have to share this story. I know that the hospital photography thing isn't for everybody. In fact, I didn't use the hospital photographer when my girls were born either. I felt like it was too expensive for what little bit of photos you got. Plus, those $3.99 a sheet offers are always coming in the mail, so I just figured that I would get their pictures taken at a studio after leaving the hospital (maybe a few weeks later). So, I TOTALLY understand when people don't want to do it. I don't have a problem when people decline. I usually have a list of about 10 to 15 babies a day. If 7 of the 15 decline, I am still doing 8 photo shoots. By the way, I should mention, I have a photography cart which allows me to upload the pictures to a computer on the cart. This way, the parents get to see the pictures right there, and we can place the order directly from the hospital room...
This is what happened yesterday. I had my log book with my 13 babies on it. The photographer that had worked the day before had put notes next to some of the room numbers that had said "maybe" to the pictures, so that I could stop back by and check. For one room number she put, "mother wants to think about it. Seems angry?" In I went to this room... They wanted pictures. They did say they didn't have a lot of money, so they wanted to get the smallest thing. I suggested a keepsake, which is $20, and includes 3 photos. I still took care in the photos, making sure that I got lots of good ones. I even got little brother in one. Everything was going well. They loved the pictures, and picked out the 3 that they wanted on the keepsake. Then, the husband told me to hold on a minute. He went outside the room. When he returned a couple of minutes later, he had a nurse with him. He asked the nurse to use her cell phone to take a picture of the computer screen. He wanted her to take a picture of each one of the photos I took, and then send them to his phone. Then, he would print them off. Say what??????? Before any of this could happen, the wife says, "Uh, uh, see, how did you even know she had a camera phone? I think you are trying to be slick so you can get her phone number!" The nurse, of course, did not want to be in their drama and said she wouldn't be able to do that, and she walked out. I quietly shut down my computer, unplugged my cart, and I took off. I don't know what happened after that, but if I were to write down notes for that room on the log book... I would have to say she doesn't just "seem angry"... Good grief!