Weekly Randoms (10/10)

fourPsinapod

Anyone else enjoying the holiday off??

BumpasaurusRex

fourPsinapod said:

Anyone else enjoying the holiday off??

I wish

The silver lining is that I got to work in record time because schools are closed.  All I have to say is thank goodness the daycare is open.  I honestly don't know how working parents handle their schedules when kids are in actual school.  My SIL is constantly juggling her schedule for the days when her kids' school is closed.  

fourPsinapod

DDs daycare is also off today so its not really a true day off! Haha 

poofwok

Happy thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians!

H is off work and DS has no daycare today. We celebrated yesterday so we'll probably just relax at home. Might take DS to the park later when the weather warms up. 

grapeskittles4lyfe

I don't feel huge, but on my walk to work today I felt like my bump was pulling uncomfortably towards the ground. I've been wearing jeans all last week, so I guess part of it is getting used to leggings, but methinks I'll be breaking out the support band thingummy a mom friend gave to me sooner rather than later.

BlondePeanut

Nope! lol. today is not a company holiday for me or DH lol

lfrank12

I SO wish my company gave us today off. Really not in the mood to work today!

scottipino

Not off today AND I had to work on Sat.  It was painful this morning getting up.  I get Wed afternoon off in payment for Sat and it can't come soon enough

pickle-chips

Yep! Happy Thanksgiving, Canadian bumpies! We had a wedding to go to last night and I was the last pregnant lady on the dance floor, which I'm unreasonably proud of -- there were two other pregnant ladies in attendance. Not that it was a competition or anything.

leslie1331

Off today too!! Thanks Chris Columbus for the ridiculous holiday  Going to see Girl on a Train this afternoon with a friend. Happy Thanksgiving to all the friends up north! 

varimama

We don't get today off, but I did take Friday off this week so it is a short week for me! Also this now explains why the traffic was so light on our way to work. DH and I couldn't figure it out lol.

birdiejo

I went on a walk this morning and it was actually brisk. It was glorious! I love fallllllll.

MommaBean

Schools aren't closed around here! This teacher is at work but made it in record time thanks to everyone else being off today

scifichick09

No day off here But DH got to feel his first kick over the weekend! yay!!

varimama

It's kind of funny I've always followed the rule of don't ever ask a woman if she's pregnant unless she brings it up first and I still do think that's a good rule b/c you don't know what the other person is going through etc... But I just had the first person ask me if I'm expecting and it made me so happy! Someone recognized my bump as a baby bump and didn't just think I look fat! 

Xstatic3333

We are both off and tackling ambitious cooking projects all day! Hooray! I love this long weekend. It always has the best weather in New England. 

MrsP052909

I am not off work today (luckily neither of my kids' schools are closed!). Everywhere that I needed to go today during my lunch break is unfortunately closed...

birdiejo

@Xstatic3333 Elaborate please. Whatcha cooking? 

Xstatic3333

@homemake breakfast was breakfast tacos with eggs and potatoes. Next we're going to make Alton Brown's vegetable potsticker recipe from scratch to use up a huge Napa cabbage, and then eggplant curry to save for the week. Yay food!

madamerwin

I read this and thought "Holiday? Are we talking about Canadian Thanksgiving?" Then I realized it's Columbus Day/Indigenous People's Day. I never get any of the minor holidays off, so I kind of forget about them.

ETA: Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

leprechaunlady

marriedhamstermom said:

It's kind of funny I've always followed the rule of don't ever ask a woman if she's pregnant unless she brings it up first and I still do think that's a good rule b/c you don't know what the other person is going through etc... But I just had the first person ask me if I'm expecting and it made me so happy! Someone recognized my bump as a baby bump and didn't just think I look fat! 

I thought i looked pregnant now & not just fat but this past weekend i had to actually tell 3 different people that im pregnant cause apparently its not that obvious

mrslittlemac

I keep getting comments from people at work that I "don't even look different!" 
Um... thanks guys, I know you mean well, but yes, I definitely look different.
Time to slink to the back for a coveted cup of half-caf and some bitter tears

kirstynikole

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends up north! Work for me today, but only because I'm a SAHM so I don't know if that really counts. I do have some photography business to work on as well, so there is that too!! 

H has school today and I was hoping he'd have the day off, but it seems like his University never gives Monday holidays.   

On an unrelated note, when you guys get family photos/maternity/engagement photos, what makes you choose a photographer? Do you choose based on price, style, packages, payment options/plans, or other? Also do you prefer photographers that give you a session fee (say $250-350) that includes selected digital images (35-50) or a session fee that is cheaper ($150) that then allows you to choose a photo print/digital package(think Olan Mills, etc with professional prints& digital copies)? Also as a bride, what was important to you in wedding packages? 

I'm restructuring my business and trying to see what consumers prefer.. 

scifichick09

The guy across the hall from me asks me literally Every. Single. Day. How am I feeling? How's the baby? Jesus. The answer has been "Fine" every day for the last 3 months....it's not going to change day to day. I'm about to lose my mind.

birdiejo

scifichick09 said:

The guy across the hall from me asks me literally Every. Single. Day. How am I feeling? How's the baby? Jesus. The answer has been "Fine" every day for the last 3 months....it's not going to change day to day. I'm about to lose my mind.

Also if you weren't fine would you wanna chat about it with him? Probably not haha!

jstringfellow19

@kirstynikole I chose my current family photographer based on her reviews and what I saw in the quality of her pictures on her site. She was up and coming so I gave her a shot. I was so shocked at how good she was. She charges a fee and then all images are given on a CD with printing rights. That's how I prefer to do it. It's hard for me to choose just a certain amount of photos sometimes. This girl is very reasonable as well. Like $100 for 45 minutes usually at whatever location I choose. 

As a bride, I have noticed the trend in my area is to offer a bridal or engagement session for "free" with the purchase of a wedding package. I chose the engagement photos with my package. It gave me and DH a chance to get to know the photographer and vice versa which made working with her on the wedding day a lot easier. Also I would say offering enough coverage time to make sure you get the before/getting ready photos. Those are sometimes some of the best pictures. 

varimama

@Janefelicity and @MrsLittleMac I bet people are just trying to be polite and are just acting like they didn't notice before you told them or think you'd rather hear you aren't looking bigger for some reason. I've noticed even people I've told I'm pregnant get really awkward and embarrassed making a comment about my bump. My MIL just told me this weekend how it still looks little... and a coworker who knows said it looks cute and then got kind of embarrassed and asked if it was ok of her to say that. 

yogadevil

@kirstynikole anytime I've chosen a photographer I've always made sure that whatever the price is, that I get the rights to print the pictures of my choosing myself. I prefer getting a CD of all the images so I can choose later. Usually I go for a flat rate session fee because it's not always easy to pick a picture package when I have no idea how the session will go.

birdiejo

I agree with @marriedhamstermom. It's a tricky area. Some people get offended by hearing they're so small and others get upset when people tell them they're big. Everyone should just say "wow you look fantastic!". That's safe.  

birdiejo

I usually hang out just in our board but I've found myself chilling over in October and all the labor threads. We're so close but so far!

madamerwin

scifichick09 said:

The guy across the hall from me asks me literally Every. Single. Day. How am I feeling? How's the baby? Jesus. The answer has been "Fine" every day for the last 3 months....it's not going to change day to day. I'm about to lose my mind.

I am really sick of people asking me how I am feeling. There are a few people at work who, EVERY DAY, come up to me, do this weird smile and shoulder scrunch thing, and say in a kind of mischievous voice (that's the best way I can think to explain it) "So, how are you feeling today? Everything good?" Oh my god, stop asking me! I will tell you the same damn thing every day, regardless ("Good, just tired!")

Lafreeman21

Re: constant how are you 's... Maybe just give them really, really gross details until they're scared to ask? Make something up about an herbal hemorrhoid remedy involving citrus, and ask if they'd like to test it for side effects before you use it.

Xstatic3333

@kirstynikole I like to have the rights to print images on our own, as well as the option to buy a few high-quality images directly from the photographer. I will need to chose based on price, but that's because the best price I can find for even a very basic package in my area is around $400. We don't even want posing or props, just a few lifestyle shots! If pricing were similar to in your area I'd be more willing to pay for extras. As it is, I'm having to fight with H about doing it at all, but professional photography is really important to me. 

Edit: Agree that there are definitely two sides to the coin of "looking pregnant." I'm constantly being told that I look much farther along than I am and that's no fun either. The world should just agree not to comment either way about pregnant women's bodies.

lemieuxk

I'm so glad that others feel the same way about constant "how are you feeling?" I feel like a jerk but I get irritated that nobody wants to know how I am, just how I'm feeling. I know it's well-intentioned but it makes me feel like a baby incubator and nothing else. 

MrsP052909

A guy at work makes a comment every single day about how big my belly is. Even went as far as to tell his girlfriend that I'm having triplets which she then asked me about. I'm pregnant with my third and have a tilted uterus so I realize that I am probably a little bigger than others at this stage but seriously no need for the comments.

kswiger06

On size comments: I am doing am online game where people get to guess baby's sex, weight, length,... blah blah and so last weekend I told my mom it was her last chance to change her guess on the sex because I was going to tell her. And she said my body is throwing her off, because with Boys you can't normally tell a woman is pregnant from the back, but I am "widening" out... I got irrationally annoyed and didn't drop it for a while. My husband eventually shushed me because I guess it wasn't that big a deal to him, and I might have been getting too excited over it. Me personally I don't ever want to her that I'm "widening" out. Not cool.

@kirstynikole I also enjoy having rights to the images on a disk. I also like to see photos previously taken, because I'm weird and don't like perfectly posed photos unless they are formal wedding types. The biggest thing is though, the time and attention given. My cousin has her own photography business. She did my brothers wedding day. My brother waited
fo-ev-er to finally get married and he took his time, planned it out (yes my brother had majority say over everything with the wedding lol) and then hired my cousin for pics. I overheard heard making comments about how she wanted them to hurry up and cut the cake so she could be done and leave!!! WTF!! I decided right then that I will never ever use her, ever. I don't care if she is my cousin. That was tacky, and rude.

imalwaysme79

@kirstynikole, I agree that the biggest thing for me is to have the hi-res digital file with the rights. 

imalwaysme79

FYI: RECALL ALERT: 959 pounds of ready to eat “Lunchables Ham and American Cracker Stackers” have been recalled due to a labeling issue.  

varimama

@kirstynikole I also prefer to pay a session fee and have rights to the images and print them on my own. For  my wedding it was really important I'd get all of the photos and have the rights to print them. It was also important to me that my photographer had been to my venue before to shoot weddings. He knew exactly what kind of lighting he would have, what he'd need to bring, and knew all the good photo spots for the pics that DH and I had done during our cocktail hour. It all went so smooth we got back in time to enjoy the last 15 minutes of it!

Mamallamallama

@kirstynikole
A big deal for me is getting rights to the edited photos. I want to own my pictures, I understand you (the photographer) can still use them for business purposes. As far as pricing, I will pay a lot for great pictures. I know pictures are an investment but so worth it. I also like when there are tiered picture packages; i.e. 15 edited images and 2 hours of shoot time for x amount or 30 edited images and 3 hours of shoot time for x amount. 

My random: DH was off today and we went to a corn maze and pumpkin farm. AND we had fall like weather! 

leprechaunlady

@kirstynikole im the same as most others here in that its most important to have the hi-res images as part of the package. We picked our wedding photographer based on the style & knowing his work. He offered different packages & we picked the elements we wanted including an engagement shoot. Im currently looking into photographers to do a newborn shoot & will choose based on a combination of style, cost & being able to to get the digital images of the shoot.