Johnny said it best.

Today I'm listening to new and old songs by John Mayer. That man as quite the way with words. I feel like I can relate to something in almost every one of his songs during various points in my life. Here are some of the lyrics that stick out to me:

*****

"I rent a room and I fill the spaces with
Wood in places to make it feel like home
But all I feel's alone
It might be a quarter life crisis
Or just the stirring in my soul"  -Why Georgia

"By the time I recognize this moment
This moment will be gone
But I will bend the light, pretend that it somehow lingered on"  -Clarity

"Someday I'll fly
Someday I'll soar
Someday I'll be so damn much more
Cause I'm bigger than my body gives me credit for"  -Bigger Than My Body

Read the lyrics to 3x5, Something's Missing, Gravity... I can't quote just one part because I like them both so much in their entirety.

"So I'll check the weather wherever you are
'Cause I wanna know if you can see the stars tonight" -Split Screen Sadness

"And if you never stop when you wave goodbye
You just might find if you give it time
You will wave hello again" -Wheel

"And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want"  -Waiting on the World to Change

"Belief is a beautiful armor

But makes for the heaviest sword
Like punching under water
You never can hit who you're trying for"  -Belief

"So scared of getting older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game to find away to say that life has just begun"  -Stop This Train... pretty much all the words in this song speak to me, but that one does most.

"When you're dreaming with a broken heart
The waking up is the hardest part"  -Dreaming With a Broken Heart

"I'm in repair, I'm not together but I'm getting there..." -In Repair

*****

I love songwriters that have true meaning and emotion in their lyrics, and John Mayer certainly does that. He's not hard on the eyes, either. :)

-Ash

Me too!!

An example of Keaton's frame of mind lately:

Keaton said, "Whatcha doin', Mommy?" I said, "I'm drinking coffee, buddy." He said, "I want drink coffee, too!"

Neighbor Nina and her little brother Evan were playing outside with Keaton the other night. Evan started making faces at Nina, and she said to him, "You look stupid." Keaton chimed in, "I look stupid, too!"

*****
Yesterday I took Keaton to Men's Wearhouse to get fitted for his tuxedo for "Uncle" Kyle's wedding next month. He loved it. LOVED it. Didn't want to take it off. He was strutting around the store, checking himself out in the mirror. Look out, ladies! This little stud muffin is going to tear up the dance floor in a few weeks!

We had family pictures taken last night. It was a lot of fun! Keaton fell in love with our photographer, Dana. He even asked to hold her hand when we were talking to the parking lot. I can't wait to see the pictures!!

My voice is slowly coming back, but the hearing in my right ear hasn't yet. I also spend a good 2 hour chunk of time each night coughing instead of sleeping. I'm a tiny bit of a zombie right now, but today is my day "off" so I hope to get a second wind (*read 'cup of coffee and can of Coke'*) and get some things done.

Finally, today is my NINE year wedding anniversary!! What a ride it's been so far. I can't wait to see where the next 9 years takes us! It's hard to imagine when I look back on the last nine... we've been through a lot and have come a long, long way. We've met some amazing people, and even created our own amazing little person. It's been a very exciting roller coaster of life together- ups and downs, for sure- but I'm really glad we've gotten through it together. :)

-Ash

Well, holy ____...

My kid pooped on the potty!!! Woooooo hooooooo!! Exciting day in the Hetrick household! He didn't actually tell me he had to go, he just had the 'poop stance' and I asked him if he needed to go, so he ran to the bathroom. Normally he says he's not going, when he really is. I think he's starting to get it!! And lately, every time he sits on the potty, he pees. Woot!!!

What else. Hmmm... Keaton's over yet another ear infection, and I managed to get one for the first time in over a decade. I also lost my voice Saturday night and am just now starting to get it back. That has been a frustrating couple of days because I sound like a goose if any noise comes out at all. I think the worst is *hopefully* over.

Tonight we have family pictures at the Arboretum, which should be fun. Hopefully Keaton naps well, because we're not scheduled to meet until 6:30 tonight. I'll update soon!

I guess that's it. Little man is running around like a maniac (probably the two M&Ms I gave him for going potty) and I've got plenty to do today. More later!!

-Ash

"Syrup"

I apparently have "the crud". Pretty sure it's a sinus infection, but I don't know that I'll bet money on that since I was way off with Keaton's ailments this week. Either way, I feel a bit better today. I guess I timed it about right, because I was sick on a day that Keaton was at school, and I no longer have classes. I was able to rest most of yesterday, and I think that helped. What didn't help was waking up at 2:30 and not being able to go back to sleep until almost 5 this morning. Oh well... I'll have to nap when Keaton does today.

Speaking of that guy, he said another funny thing yesterday that I had to share. At Keaton's school, they sing various songs in the morning during Circle Time. One is about the continents. The other day he asked me where Europe was, so I pulled up a world map to show him. We looked at a lot of other images, too, including the solar system. Last night Keaton and I were outside drawing with chalk, when he asked me to draw planet Earth. I drew a terrible rendition of Earth and he got really excited and started yelling out continents: "Sou 'Merica! 'Merica! Africa! SYRUP!" I laughed so hard that my head throbbed. Syrup. That one was worth blogging about.

I guess that's all for now. We've got a busy weekend, so I'm going to try my best to feel better so we can do all the fun things we have planned. Sounds like vitamin C and sunshine are in order today.

-Ash

Amazing Little Man

I have started talking to Keaton about his 'role' in both weddings next month. I tried telling him about weddings, and this is what he got from it: "Walk down aisle, dance, eat cake! Mitch and Leslie have a wedding!" I also showed him a picture of a tuxedo that he will wear in "Uncle" Kyle's wedding, and he was thrilled. I figure that if I show him now and talk to him about it, he will *hopefully* not have an issue with wearing it next month. So far so good. :)

Tonight I also talked to him about going potty before his bath. He sat down on the toilet, looked at his "boy parts" (as we call them) and started peeing! He looked up at me and said, "I did it!!!" and then stood up... luckily he stopped going long enough to celebrate, then sat back down and went again. I danced a freaking jig for this kid. I am so proud! I hope he keeps it up! The other day, he went #2 for the first time (mainly because I caught him in the middle of it, but he kept going when I got him on the toilet, which is a first)! Maybe we are making headway. I got him a cute little book called Potty which we read every time he tries to go. He especially likes the last page called "Undies" which has drawings of a bunch of different types of underwear with various designs on them. He has to be sure to tell me all of the designs before we can close the book.

Speaking of books, he loves them. We read before nap and bedtime every day that he's home. He loves some of the stories I used to love, like "Owl and the Moon" from the Owl At Home book, and "Cookies" from Frog and Toad Are Friends. I was also a big Arnold Lobel fan as a child. It's so fun to read the stories I used to like and see him get excited about them, too. I think it's even more fun when he wants to read it himself when I'm finished. Someday, when my phone is able to upload videos to YouTube again, I will share videos of him "reading". :)

So Keaton has yet another ear infection (which would explain his crazy moods last week). Never had a fever or gave us any warning of it, besides that. So I was pretty shocked when I took him in on Monday to check out the gunk in his eye to find out that he not only had an ear infection, but *bacterial* pink eye. This is not the same pink eye that we all freak out about, apparently. It's a less contagious kind and thankfully it appears that we haven't spread it to anyone else. Feel pretty terrible that we were even in a situation where we could have spread it to other friends, but I guess we lucked out. Thank you Lord.

That said, we had to spend the last few days at home. Giving the kid eye drops was pretty horrific, but he's a trooper at taking his oral meds. Yesterday was gorgeous, so we sat outside on a blanket in the back yard and watched the baby birds (which are nesting in our bathroom vent) get fed by the Mommy and Daddy birds. It was a fun experience, and Keaton had a lot of questions. "Where Mommy bird go?" or he'd squeal "Baby birds!!!" whenever the little guys would poke their heads out. Fun times with my little man. We laid on the blanket and watched them, as well as the large number of airplanes flying in the sky. He was totally digging it.

*Another note about the birds- we were talking about them again tonight, and he said, "Mommy and Daddy bird? No, no Daddy bird." I said, "Where's the Daddy bird?" and he said, "He goes school." I humored him and said, "What is he studying at school?" and he said, "Flying airplanes." Hahaha!

LOVE this kid so much. He's a ton of fun right now. When he's not having a Moody Two moment.

:)

-Ash

So long, semester!!

...but to me, it wasn't long enough. I am so sad that today was the last day of class until Fall. I feel like a new person. I went from being completely intimidated about school and the people in my classes (feeling inadequate as a photographer, feeling out of the loop technologically, etc.) to feeling like I have FINALLY found the path that was meant for me. I have no idea where it will lead me, I just know I love it. So this is what it's like to love what you do... I wish it wouldn't have taken me so long. Better late than never!!!

I know I couldn't have done this alone. There are so many people that helped pave the way to where I am now. (I feel like I'm giving some kind of acceptance speech...haha!). But really, without the love, support, encouragement, and sometimes a swift kick in the behind, I wouldn't be pursuing something that I have always loved. It may not pay the bills, but I will be happy showing the world things that I think are beautiful about life. I will strive to put my visions out there and try to learn new techniques to better showcase what I see. All I know is, I'm excited. I am thrilled with the feedback I've received on the work I've done. I still have a long way to go, but I'm a lot more likely to climb the mountain, knowing what can possibly be on the other side.

On a final note, I can't say enough about the teachers I've met along the way. People like Glenn Hansen, Hans Klemmer, and Jeff Curto who are the type of teachers that are so passionate about what they do, it is contagious. They make learning FUN, and that's how it should be. It saddens me that the College of DuPage is having so many issues with the Administration and the possible setbacks with faculty contracts. I don't know what is in store for the Photography department, but I hope to be able to complete my journey at this school before the powers that be run it into the ground. So sad. I guess either way, I am just thankful for the time I have had there, and hope it is able to continue.

-Ash

Catching Up

I am really trying to remember all the things that have happened since April 19th. It's Cinco de Mayo... I've got a lot of days in between to try and update. Hmmm... well since I can't really remember what's been going on in that time, here are some of my Facebook status posts instead. Should summarize at least a little bit:

4-19: Mr. K quote of the day: "Mommy, I wan go da ocean. See whale. No, dolphin. Noooo... ride a boat."

4-20: "Keaton and I were dancing with Ellen today. He turned around, saw me dancing, and said, "No thank you, Mommy." At least he was polite about it...? Haha.."

4-22: "Nerdy Photography student alert: I was walking to the kitchen to do the dishes when some great lighting caught my eye. I spent 20+ minutes taking pictures of it. Needless to say, the dishes are still sitting there..."

4-25: "Ironic that the Today Show segment yesterday about the top 5 'useless majors' wouldn't have been seen without the work of people who majored in them.

1. Fine arts
2. Drama and theater arts
3. Film, video & photographic arts
4. Commercial art & graphic design
5. Architecture

I think the world would be a pretty boring place without us crazy 'art folk' in it. Proud to be in a 'useless major'... I'm doing what I love!"

4-27: "My parents sent their antique slide projector to me along with a ton of slides, circa 1983-85. Can't really explain my excitement right now!! I also can't wait to turn some of these into actual photos at some point, and use the projector for a photography project I'm working on. :-D"

4-29: "The moon is no longer for sale: Keaton purchased it tonight with "money" (three stars cut out of construction paper). :)"

4-30: "Conversation with Keaton just now:
K- "I like you, Mommy."
Me- "I love you, Keaton, and I like you too."
K- "Ohhhh... nice!"

5-1: "Today I bumped my knee and Keaton kissed it to make it feel better. And it worked. :)"

5-2: "I've got a ton on my plate the next few days, but I am happy to say that I survived another semester!! If I can get through the next week and get all my projects/"surprise" writing assignments completed, I will sum this up as the most successful semester yet. Can't wait to do it again in the Fall!!"

*****
Only one more week left of this semester, and I have to say, it's been a great one. I met some amazing people, and now feel a lot more confident in my abilities as a photographer. I think this is honestly the first time in my many years as a student that I feel motivated and have that hunger for knowledge that so many people talk about... it just took the right major for me, I guess. I'm excited about what is to come!

Keaton's been both hilarious and moody as heck lately... such is the life of a two year old, I suppose. He will have one or two meltdowns every day. He hasn't wanted to sleep much the past week or so, but he went from having the Hetrick grandparents here and then having my Mom around to entertain him, so he's been pretty keyed up. He's also said some great things, including:

"You look cute, Mommy."

"I have poo poo chicken nuggets" (I once made the mistake of saying he had 'poop nuggets' which basically means his poo was the consistency of rabbit pellets... too much information, I know... but you only know saying it is a mistake when you hear your kid repeat it, especially if he changes the words!)

Me- "Keaton, I love you." Keaton, "I love you too, Mommy!" (Heart melted.)

He can basically recite all the words in "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" and someday when I can get the video to download, I'll post it on YouTube. It's pretty great. He will even correct himself if he says the wrong animal- i.e. "Brown Bear, brown bear, what you see? I see purple cat looking at me. No, no purple cat. Red bird." Adorable.

I need to stop writing for tonight.. it's almost midnight. I'll try to catch up more soon!

-Ash