Overdue...

 I'm starting to notice a reoccurring theme in my life.  Perhaps I'm a little overdue in more than one area.  At least I have a little control over my lack of posting.  Baby girl, well, I guess she's still cooking and I'm hopeful that, that overdue will resolve itself shortly as well.  

Here is the photo update from the last 8ish weeks.  I continued snapping a photo a week but got significantly behind on posting.   It's been a little busy!

9/52  

 10/52

 11/52

 12/52

 13/52

 14/52

 15/52

photo credit: Ashley Borntrager

 16/52 

 17/52

 18/52

a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

7/52 and 8/52

I'm playing catch up again...
7/52- My little music man. 

 8/52- I am soaking up every last minute as a family of three in our little house.  

a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

We are a little behind...5/52 and 6/52

5/52  -Fitting for this week and last for that matter. Such a sweet little man, but two has been really hard for the last week and a half.  I'm not sure where he picked this up, but we have had some pretty incredible temper tantrums, my favorite was Saturday morning in Startbucks over a granola bar.  Yes, it was quite a scene and I'm sure the patrons of the Golden Valley Starbucks were just starring because they were sympathizing, not because they were judging!  Holy embarrassing/mother of the year award! 

6/52 but then this...  MELT MY HEART! Hanging with his sweet daddy checking out the neighbors on Sunday morning.  

a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

4/52

4/52
Mini-remodel/new carpet this week means that we had a living room slumber party!  Lots and lots of jumping on the bed!

a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

3/52

A picture of my little fish.  We've loved kicked and splashing lately.  The competition continues.  Wrestler or swimmer? 

a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.

Mama Self-Care

Last fall I was asked to talk to a group of young moms about the importance of self-care.  I met with them last Tuesday but it in an effort to prepare for my little chat I did some soul searching and a lot of reading... these are some of the thoughts I shared.    

 Do you ever think back to before you were married or before you had kids and think…oh my goodness what the heck did I do with all my time?  I am so lucky and blessed with my life right now, but I find myself at least a couple of times a week thinking, holy cow I wish I would have enjoyed that a little more!  

So I’ve been reading a ton on self-care.  Let's be honest most women and especially moms aren't real great at this.   Mommy guilt anyone?  Whether you’re a stay at home mom, you work fulltime, you have 10 kids or one, stopping to think about ourselves literally goes against everything we’ve ever been taught! 

I read this awesome article  recently that used an analogy and I thought it was brilliant!  You know when you’re in an airplane and the flight attendant does their little pre-flight speal?  What do they tell you?  They always say if we should loose oxygen during flight, make sure that you adjust your oxygen mask before assisting children or anyone else!  Why is that?  Oh yeah that’s right because if you don’t have oxygen and pass out you’ll be pretty worthless to the person next to you who may need your assistance.  How similar to real life is this?  If you aren’t taking care of yourself, how are you possibly going to be able to care for someone else?  I’m not suggesting all day spa vacations but simply to think about how you care for others and then start doing a little more of that for yourself. 

How many of you rock an un-showered top knot and leave your house in yoga pants multiple times a week.  Yep raising my hand high here, but stop for a second and think about it from this perspective.  Do you let your little ones run off to school in the same clothes as yesterday without combing their hair?  Or how about all of a sudden it’s 2PM and all you’ve had is your morning coffee and maybe a couple dry cheerios that you found stuck to your yoga pants?  Yep, you know that feeling, raging headache and then you blame it on too much or too little caffeine and not enough water.  Well I bet that you would never send your little ones to school with just a sip of juice/milk in the morning.  Stop and remember these things.  Then remember what you would do for your children or your husband or your friend if they were tired, hungry, unshowered and do that! 

The point of my examples is by no means to make you feel guilty in fact a high five to all of you for running this race called motherhood but let’s be gentle with ourselves, let’s figure out what makes us the best versions of ourselves so that we can be the best version for everyone else! 

52 Project

Inspired by Jodi of Che & Fidel, I’ve decided to join in on the 52 project…taking a portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2014.  Here are are the first two.

1/52  

2/52

Here is a little more about what Jodi wrote as she began the project in 2011-

In late 2011 I started thinking about a portrait project. I was in awe of Georgia and her 365 photos of the year; even more enamoured with the thought of a hard-cover printed album at the end of it all. But I know what I'm like, and I knew that a photo-a-day would fast become a chore. From the beginning I wanted to create something that was rewarding and achievable. I loved the idea of taking a portrait of my children each week, capturing an expression, an emotion, a gesture. 

52 weeks later and I have 104 portraits; photos that tell the story of Che and Poet's year. It's quite overwhelming to scroll through the weeks and see such growth and expansion. I think my favourites are the unportraits; the ever-gorgeous top-knot, the hesitant boy on the edge of the pool, the twiddling of toes (a family trait). 

While some weeks I had a number of photos to choose from there were times when I spent late-Saturday afternoon taking photos (in preparation for my Sunday deadline). I often smiled at the unity of the portraits when they came together, especiallythe gaze, the blue, the bubbles, the polka dots, the light and the connection. This project was perfect for improving my photography skills, for understanding when to stand back and observe and when to engage. I learnt a lot about the light in my house too - its softness and its colour and how it changed with each season.

Mostly, I learnt about the importance of memory keeping. Because honestly, this year felt like 22 weeks, not 52. It was abundant but quick, a brimming blur of routine, school, work, play, love, life and sleep. And I'm so grateful I stopped to capture the little people amongst it all. I dog-eared a page in Happier At Home a few weeks ago and it seems apt to share it with you. Gretchen Rubin says:

One night, as some friends and I walked out of our book club meeting, I said, "Lately I've been feeling very wistful. Childhood is speeding by so fast. It's such a cliche, but it's true."

"I know exactly what you mean," one friend answered. "Whenever I get annoyed by the mess stuck to our refrigerator door, or about having to keep a stroller in the hallway of my apartment, I remind myself that these are the good old days."

"Yes," I said. "Now is the time to appreciate it."

As I walked in the door of my building, I thought, yet again, of how much I wanted to make my home a haven of comfort, warmth, and tenderness. We were in the rush hour of our life now, and everything was moving so quickly, and every day seemed so crowded - more reason to remember to slow down, stay patient, take photographs, and play Hide and Seek.

When I look at the photos I took throughout 2012 I see real life in still life, our busy weeks encapsulated in one moment. Memories that made up our year.

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