Cheerleading

Cami asked me today if we could go see the cheerleaders again and it just so happens the Macomb Bombers had a home basketball game tonight. We had no other plans so we made it a date to go watch cheerleaders and basketball! The girl is destined to be a cheerleader. If she's not dressed up as a Princess shes dressed up as a Cheerleader running through the house yelling GO BOMBERS GO! Gotta love her! She knows 3 or 4 of the bomber cheers already and is dying to be put up in a lift not to mention her toe touch is pretty impressive for a 4 year old.  She looks up to her cousin Danielle!

I have never left Collin with anyone other than family but tonight was the night... we hired a babysitter! I was nervous for about the first hour cause I know how much he fights bedtime but Amber did it! I'm impressed. Not that I didnt trust her.. just the simple fact that Collin went down so easy for her. Why do kids give their parents such a hard time but are complete angels for everyone else!? I just dont get it. I brought the kid into this world therefore, he should go easy on mom but nooooo..doesnt work that way.

I am so glad we got to take Cam outta the house though. Sometimes I feel like she gets cheated. It's hard having a second child and balancing the attention between the two. Collin has been a very needy baby since day 1. Cami is such a sport though. She helps us out alot but there are times you can see the frustration in her eyes.. sometimes I can tell shes dying to scream enough is enough.. I feel her pain because I am too at times. Collin still doesnt consistently sleep through the night. In fact, he's up probably 5 times a night..sometimes more.. once in a while less. John and I are tired. Energy is low for us and high for Cami. We need to get her out more. Her and I used to be the bestest friends and did something fun everyday.. now, not so much. We're stuck in the house alot more and because it's winter it makes it worse because we can't even go jump on the trampoline or swing on the swingset in the backyard. It also doesnt help that she goes to school from 12-2:30.. right in the middle of our day so getting together with friends for a playdate makes it rough.

With that said, Cami is the bestest big sister and her little brother absolutely adores her. Those two just melt my heart when they play together. Collin and I are always up before Cami in the mornings. The minute she walks outta her room Collin's eyes light up and the biggest smile is put on his face with of course the loud squeal. With her eyes barely open, she smiles and says "Hiiii baby boy! Sissy loves you!" Moments like this make the sleepless nights so worth it.

Cami is Collin's biggest cheerleader. When he learned to roll over she was right there clapping her hands with an exciting "Yayyy!!!"... when he was trying to crawl she was right down there on the ground cheering him on.. "C'mon Collin you can do it.. go buddy go!".. and now he's trying to walk.. she holds his hands and helps him around the living room.. "Good job buddy you're doing it!!!" I absolutely LOVE being a mom! I am hoping I forget about how needy this boy is in a couple years and we can have a third. Children really are God's greatest gift and I have been blessed with two of the most amazing gifts ever!

This is me..

Hi. I'm Candace. I am a wife to John, a mother to Camryn & Collin, a straight A student in college, and a weekend photographer.  We have 3 fur babies - Ace, the mutt, we bought him from some old people in walmart parking lot.. we think he is part basenji and part shiba-inu.. yeah, google it... he's my boy though. Then we have Wrigley the pug puppy... yes as in Wrigley Field... we also bought him from a parking lot off some random people selling pugs.. John has always loved pugs so of course I couldn't just drive by the cute little wrinkled faced creature and forget about him. Oh, then we have this cat named Chloe... John and Cami went to go get their hair cut one day and next thing I know they walk through the door with a kitten in their hands.. apparently they made a trip to Pet Land and Cami just HAD to have her. So, we have a house full to say the least and our lives are pretty hectic as well.. but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love my life and everyone in it!


I am kind of health freak/holistic mom. I research EVERYTHING that has to do with my childrens health and safety. They are both in the safest carseats and buckled up correctly. I believe in extrended rear facing. I breastfeed, use cloth diapers, baby wear, & co-sleep.  I would love to say that both my kids are vaccine free but unfortunately I didnt do that kind of research til after my daughter was 3.. with that said, Camryn is partially vax'd and Collin is vax free. I have become very passionate in the vaccine research and I encourage all parents to educate before they vaccinate. I'll go into more detail later.. thats a promise.. but back to me... 


As I said before, I am a photographer (http://www.candacehowephotography.com/) . I've always loved photography.. it runs in the family (moms side). I love love love black and white pictures. I stay at home with my babies during the day, attend school at night & online, and do photoshoots on the weekends. I'm not huge into professional sports (or atleast watching them on tv) but I know I am supposed to support the Chicago Bears for football and Chicago Cubs for baseball. I'm horrible with writing about myself so basically my days are long, nights are short, weekends fly by and sometimes I just need to vent to keep my sanity.. so this is my blog. This is my place in space to say what I want to say and if someone doesn't like it they dont have to read it! This is the freedom of a stay at home mom.. this is my 'me' time.. (ha!).. this is me. Welcome =)