Kristi Eckrich Photography

Cooties Be Gone!!!

I don't think anyone would disagree that being stricken by a round of stomach flu in one fall/winter season is no picnic.  What's worse is when it's over and done and everyone is back on their feet, and it strikes again.  But...do you think that's where it stopped with our family?!?!?  NOOOOOO!!!!!  Thanksgiving was Round 1.  Last month was Round 2.  This week...yep...you guessed it...ROUND 3!!!

Trevor started late Sunday night when he threw up all over his bed.  A new mattress is definitely in order (he was due for a new one anyway) and six or so loads of laundry later all affected bedding, clothing and pillows were clean and sanitized.  Today I returned to work only to receive a lunchtime phone call from preschool that Aaron was running a fever.  So here I am with a grand total of 4 hours of work for the week so far!!! 

Tomorrow is still uncertain.  Fortunately Aaron has only been dealing with a fever and hasn't developed any stomach symptoms.  YET.  Since his fever didn't go over 100 today, he may return to class in the morning if he is fever-free and eating and playing normally (a full 24-hour waiting period is usually required before returning to class).  We came home today and he wanted to play with his Thomas trains, so we spent the rest of the afternoon rigging up a rather large wooden track network on my office floor (which I now have to hopscotch through in order to get to my computer desk).  Oh the many "joys" of motherhood!

I'll leave you with a few photos of the fun!

 

The Crazy Little Aviator

Since we've all been sick lately and not getting out much, we decided to go out for a drive and a walk and get some fresh air.  Aaron was cracking us up...with his fuzzy hat and his daddy's sunglasses, he looked like a little aviator!  Naturally, as soon as I turned the camera on him, the "performance" began!

Hangin' Out

I photographed Christopher back in the fall and he recently contacted me for a second shoot.  This time we headed to downtown Carlisle for a more urban setting.  The weather was cooperative with clear, sunny weather...however, the sun was washing out most of the locations I wanted to use (which I didn't quite expect early in the morning).  Although we got some great shots, we may do a mini reshoot to add some additional locations to Christopher's gallery.

By the way, Chris has an awesome personal website!  Go check it out!  He is certainly full of ambition and I have no doubt he'll succeed at all he sets out to do in the future!

I'm a Confessed "Photo With-holder!"

I love this Feb. 5 post on Jinky's blog (Jinky a.k.a. photographer Barb Uil of Australia).  I totally could have written this post!  I am such a "photo with-holder" it isn't even funny.  I need more than two hands (and maybe a foot or two) to count the number of friends and family members who have been waiting on me for photos.  In some instances, it's been more than a year since I promised certain photos (whistle, whistle, roll eyes...).  If there's such a thing as the "Bad Friends and Family Photographer Award" I really ought to be nominated! 

I'm not a big new-year resolution person, but one big resolution I did make is to finish editing and organizing my 2007 photos (and even a few stragglers from 2006) and to get it done as early in the year as possible.  I've even been scheduling a very limited number of photo sessions over the next few weeks so I can focus on my severely-neglected personal photos.  So...to my friends and family out there waiting on photos from me...thank you for being ridiculously patient with me and I promise to have photos for you soon!

Since I hate to post without a photo, here is a shot of Trevor snowboarding in the back yard about two weeks ago:

That Fish Place

I'm a little late in posting this, but two weekends ago we headed over to That Fish Place in Lancaster.  That Fish Place is a huge pet store complete with reptile and fish rooms that rival any zoo or aquarium.  In fact, I saw some critters here that I've never seen anywhere before!  They even have a large touch tank where you can interact with baby stingrays and a variety of other critters, which the boys enjoyed immensely.  Trevor was especially excited when this little stingray popped up out of the water to say "hello!"

This guy was not at all happy about my big camera in his face.  Shortly after I took this photo he lunged right at me!

Aaron took a liking to this monitor lizard.  The two of them had quite the staring contest.

Red Pigeon Blood Discus

Albino Tiger Oscar (the albino version of our Ozzy)

The face only a mother could love!

I don't know what kind of fish this guy is.  There wasn't a tag on his tank, nor could I find him on the website.  He's so ugly, he's kinda cute!

Garra Pingi Pingis

I could have spent all day in the saltwater fish room.  There were so many beautiful and colorful fish.  When we finish our downstairs in a year or two, I would love to have a saltwater aquarium!

Queen Angel Fish

Yellow Tang

If you are looking for something to do on a rainy weekend, especially if you have kiddos (and you are within reasonable driving distance of Lancaster, PA of course!) I highly recommend a visit to That Fish Place!

A Nice Ending

This is what appeared in the sky shortly after the boys and I returned home from school/work today.  It was a nice end to an otherwise rotten day (for me).  It was a double rainbow, but the double is very light in the photos...look closely!

Check out the nifty reflection in the passenger side window!

Weekend Walk

I'm finally back with some random photos from this weekend.  On Saturday evening, Aaron and I took a walk over to the construction site at the other end of our development.  As if a whole pack of construction vehicles aren't exciting enough for a 5-year-old kid, the train track runs nearby and we were just in time for a train!

Coming around the bend...

Aaron couldn't wait to wave at the engineer.  As the engine sped by blowing its whistle, there he stood...holding his ears shut. :-D  And no, we weren't actually this close to the train.  This was shot with my 70-200 zoom lens.  Next time (when there's less mud) I need to scope out a better spot without so much brush in the way.

 

THE END.  It's kind-of a bummer you don't see cabooses at the end of trains anymore!

One of the rare occasions where I DON'T have to bribe this child to pose for me.  "Mommy, take a picture of me with the bulldozer!  And the streamroller!"

This flock of geese flew overhead, and luckily I was ready to aim and fire...with my camera, of course! :-P

Because it was "there"...

And of course, no walk would be complete without some clowning around...

Have a great rest-of-the-week!

Meet Ozzy...

We've added a new member to our family...a tiger oscar we named Ozzy.  For several years Corey has been wanting to set up an oscar tank, so this year for Christmas I went to Pet Smart and picked up a gift card for him to do just that.  Ozzy is just a baby, measuring in at around 3 1/2 inches, and for now seems kind-of small in his 55-gallon home.  But according to information we've been reading online, he could very well reach 9 or 10 inches by this time next year!

Getting Ozzy home was an adventure.  He was not at all fond of the car ride.  Oscars have many tiny teeth, and Ozzy decided he was going to put his to "good" use and bite two holes in the plastic bag on the way home.  Trying to keep the bag oriented to prevent massive water loss while Ozzy continued to charge and bite at the sides was NOT an easy task!  He was quite happy when we were finally able to dump him into his waiting tank (and so was I)!

And the little Plecostemus we got to help keep the tank clean...

Looky! Looky!

As of about 3 hours ago...my new site is LIVE!!!  Yay!!!

Website Update

Since I've gotten some emails asking about the status of my new website, I thought I'd post an update here!  My site is finished (although it took me longer than I anticipated) and I've notified my hosting company to make it live.  The problem is that they are running behind on getting client websites live in a timely manner.  In addition to hosting, they are also a popular web design company and were recently mentioned on VH-1.  As a result, they were swamped with calls and are now scrambling to catch up.  Hopefully I will be live soon!