Our week

I had a nice Mother's Day due largely to this spunky little girl.


I woke up to a sweet little voice wishing me a happy mother's day.  I joined her in the kitchen to find this:

She had wrapped book that she made at school for me.  It's all about me, complete with illustrations.  I tried not to read into the page that stated "if I could give my mom anything it would be a mirror."  She also helped her brother make a card during an evening when I wasn't home.

She even snuck out of bed Saturday night to hang this banner for me.


Taylor was determined to be helpful on this day and kept holding her hand up during the breakfast preparation, declaring "I've got this handled."



The rest of the day was not photographed, but it included a lovely lunch with my sister and mother, a chick flick to follow, a new t shirt (which will be making an appearance on this blog soon), and a pizza dinner with my mother in law.  I'm a little late on my mother's day ritual, but every year I sit down and write in my journal about all the things I love about my children.  I document all their little quirks and funny sayings so I can remember them just as they are now.  That's on my to-do list for this weekend.  I will be sure to include the way Taylor mispronounces words.  (She says delepe instead of delete., and last night she said that Charlie was just going to bark on his vegetables if I made him eat them.)

Monday night was my last photography class.  We went to Devou park to photograph the city.  I'd never been there before, but was very impressed with the view from Drees Pavilion.


Then we traveled to Covington to capture twilight photos of the bridge.


Tuesday was a special day for the art of photography.  A huge, international project took place on this day.  The idea was for people all over the world to photograph what life looks like in their corner of the world on May 15th.  The photos are then uploaded to a website so we can see what May 15th looked like in the lives of people everywhere.  It's a very neat concept and I can't wait to explore the website soon.  www.aday.org (People have one week to upload their photos.  They are extremely bogged down so wait until next week before checking it out.)

These were the photos that I submitted:

I love Taylor's smile as she gets off the bus every day.


I didn't submit this one, but it made me laugh.  I did submit the next one.


I finally ordered piano books for Charlie and he officially began lessons on May 15th.


A ladybug on our sunflowers.


I didn't submit this one, but it does capture their relationship quite well.



A rare picture of the three of them smiling and looking at me.


I love this one. I'm a sucker for backlighting.


The kids exploring the big leaves on a tree outside.


Charlie's teacher asked me to teach a music class.  They loved it (so did Morgan).



The rest of the week was typical.  I dropped off CDs of photos for the mothers of these adorable newborns:




Morgan and I hung out at home a lot too. I was cleaning and doing laundry when  I found her sitting in her own reading nook with a chair full of books.


This weekend is shaping up to be a busy one filled with soccerpractice, photo sessions, piano lessons, a birthday party, and a charity run.  I hope everyone enjoys their weekend as well!

Sorry for the wait

Oops.  Somehow over two weeks have past since my last blog post.  I think that is the most since I've started this new format and really got interested in recording my family's adventures through photographs and words.  Although I haven't posted lately, I've still been capturing images of my sweet little ones and their shenanigans as well as reflecting on what I want to say about them here.

Last week, I was formulating a post in my head about messes and childhood and embracing the two.  Sometimes my  mind goes straight to thoughts of how much more complicated or involved things can be and I forget about how much more fun they can be, too.  Case in point- making cookies the old fashioned way.  I remember when I used to make cookies with my mom and I'd try to get as much dough on my fingers while rolling the balls before placing them on the sheet.  I did this because I knew my mom would let me lick my fingers when we were finished.  Fast forward twenty-five years and I've found myself slicing pre-made cookie dough and telling myself the real fun was in eating the finished product.  Well, I'm happy to report that I've since seen the error of my ways.






This propelled a week of messes which I overlooked and chose to focus on the smiles behind them.







I've also encouraged the bigger kids to delve into the art supplies and make thank you gifts, birthday gifts and mother's day gifts.




 I was especially proud of Charlie for maintaining his attention on something other than electronics to paint three pictures for his grandmothers.


Aside from art, there have been other new interests the kids have discovered.  Like making your own shoes out of snow boot liners.


Playing for hours in a rock pile.






Using a box of wipes as a stool.


Shoes, shoes, and more shoes.


Gardening.




So somewhere between my thoughts of the messes I'm embracing, I started thinking of everything else I'm so grateful for.  Like the seven years of marriage that our family just celebrated.  We took the kids to LaRosa's for spaghetti-o-plenty.




And Taylor's unexpected acts of kindness.  Like when she spent some of her allotted money at the book fair on a book for her brother.


She's growing up so much.  I volunteered at her school last week and got to see her reading the part of Narrator in a play for her class.


I also saw the new chickies that just hatched in their classroom.


Another thing that has my heart smiling is all the quality time my kids get to spend with their grandparents.  All of the big kids have taken an interest in Grandma's gardening.




I love how a simple thing like a funny looking bulb can elicit such laughter and good cheer.






Morgan and Addison are finally aware of each other's existence.  In fact, for the past three weeks Morgan has greeted her cousin with smiles and waves.  I can't wait to see their relationship grow.


Finally, we celebrated Mark's birthday this week by going to a hibachi grill.


Before our food was prepared, Morgan kept a close eye on the table next to ours.  When our chef began she was a bit concerned, but decided it was okay as long as I stayed next to her.


And can I say how cool it is that my girls will eat sushi?


We finished his birthday celebration at Graeter's.  Taylor said that the bad thing about grown ups is that their birthdays are kind of boring.  She's not wrong.


Sorry about the delay in getting this post out.  I will post another one soon about my mother's day.  Until then, have a great week!

Mother/Daughter Time

Friday evening was one of those times I dreamt about when I first heard those magical words in the hospital six and a half years ago.  "It's a girl!" While of course I would have been happy with any healthy child, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I had high hopes that my first born would be a girl.  I have such a special mother/daughter bond with my own mother and couldn't wait to replicate that.  As Taylor has started Kindergarten I've seen her transform from a child to a kid.  She's officially a big girl.  And now is our time to shine.  When I signed us up to attend her school's Mother/Daughter Event, I did not know what I expected.  Maybe some games or crafts.  While the night did contain it's fair share of those, it held so much more.

Let's start with the preparation.  Taylor got off the bus on Friday, chattering about how excited she was for that evening's festivities.  Taylor is generally a hyper, happy girl, but she is also reserved.  It's rare that she allows herself to express genuine excitement over something.  So I tried to nurture that spark of enthusiasm.  I allowed her to pick out our outfits, complete with shoes and scarves.  Then I let her take a crack at painting her own nails.  I stopped short of letting her paint my nails, because I really don't like having painted nails.


Before we left, we posed for a quick shot outside.


Then we let Morgan in one, because we both recognized her place in this special Mother/Daughter configuration.


Then it was off to the school.  First up was the fashion show.  Taylor got to dress me up in a garbage bag and accessorize me once again.  This became my attire for the evening.


Thankfully, I was not alone. (Notice my sister, Jessica!)


Taylor must have said "I wonder if you will get to keep your dress" three of four times that night.  We finally agreed that they probably wouldn't mind if I kept the garbage bag, but we should return the beaded accessories.

Next, was pizza and a chocolate fountain.  (This must have been Taylor's first trip to the fountain, because her face and dress were still chocolate-free.)


We followed this with a game of charades.  I was so proud of Taylor when she raised her hand to volunteer right away.  She wasn't picked until the end, when she was a very convincing kangaroo.

Until this point, Taylor remained quite subdued as is often the case with her in public situations.  The next event, called Minefield, broke through that calm exterior and released a very excited little girl as Taylor directed her blindfolded mama through a series of obstacles.  Giggling turned to laughter as she tried to guide me using only her words.  She loved it!  (So much so that we played our own version of Minefield at home on Saturday night.)


Now when my daughter comes alive, so do I.  And I'll do anything to keep that joy in her eyes.  Including letting her paint my nails florescent pink.


By the time we moved to the craft table, Taylor was having a wonderful time.  As was I.  She later told me that crafts was her favorite part of the evening.  We each made two magnets for each other, and quickly decided they'd need to go high on the refrigerator to stay out of the reach of little hands.


The next events weren't photographed as I mercifully put my camera away.  We played a version of the Newlywed game, called "How Well Do You Know Each Other".  I successfully identified Taylor's favorite TV show and Disney Character, but I was not current when asked her favorite color or subject (Spanish, who knew?)  Nor did I know that if she could change her name it would be 'Isabel'.

After these structured activities, they put on a Just Dance Wii game and dimmed the lights.  So we braved it on the dance floor.  In between trips to the chocolate fountain and dancing to songs I've never heard of, Taylor said "You are staying with me!"  That was my favorite part.  The time that I know is fleeting when my daughter wants me around.  When my presence makes her feel happy, secure and loved.  So we danced and talked and snacked and enjoyed our time together.  At one point she said "it doesn't even feel like school because it's so party-y."

When I came home, I was on an emotional high and more in love with Taylor and my role as her mother than ever before.

Life is good.

A Search For Balance

My husband has been getting on my case about not updating my blog since Monday.  He asked if our blog will suffer as a result of my new pursuit of photography.  Well, the answer is no.  At least I hope not.  Admittedly, I have been struggling to strike a nice balance between my obsession passion for photography (as well as my overwhelming excitement at the thought of starting and nurturing my own business) with the needs of my family.  The other day, I was on my computer doing who knows what (editing pictures, reading a photography blog, researching poses) when Taylor said "I wish I could break your computer."  Ouch.  I immediately shut the laptop and headed outside to play.  Nothing like a six year old to shame you into remembering what's important.

Since we've been back from the lake house I've adopted "Uncle Mike's" philosophy on dishes.  Basically you could sum it up as follows "it'll keep."  Meaning why be in such a rush to jump up from the table and clean the kitchen when we've just enjoyed family time and could extend it further if we just allowed ourselves to.  So I clear the table (with the help of the kids), throw a few dishes in the dish washer and save the rest for later.  I am learning not to cringe at the sight of these dirty dishes and view them as simply not that important.

Certainly not as important as this.

It just doesn't get any better.

I have had the opportunity to practice real photo shoots lately.  Here's a few samples of what I'm creating.