Apologies ahead of time for the all photos post, but I wanted to share some more of these from last weekend. I’m pretty happy with most of them, but I also see a lot of room for improvement so I’ve been studying up all week trying to figure out what I did wrong.
The boys
My handsome little man
My goofy nephew, Ryan
Best Friends Forever
My Girl
My mind races with things that need to be released. I write post after post in my head, yet lack the time to sit and type them out. My life, it is chaotic. As I whine and complain about how busy and crazy things always are, I also know that this is the life I chose. My choices got me to this place of constant activity, stress, and very little rest. The weekends and evenings go too fast, the weekdays too slow.
There are ups and downs and so many things in between. Some days I sit back amazed at how blessed I am in my life. Other days I wonder just how much longer I can keep it all together. At times I feel like I’m just going through the motions, just to get through one more day. Those times make me feel like I am missing out on so much. I wonder how I’ll ever make it when the kids are older and involved in school and activities and play dates and birthday parties.
This last week was particularly hard. I was still trying to catch up on life as February went and got all crazy on me. My car was in the shop. Grocery shopping got delayed due to the snow and ice the weekend before and we were out of food. Zach had a music program at preschool Wednesday night. I had to get our taxes done because we needed the refund to pay for the car repairs. Zach had to go to the doctor due to some stomach problems he’s been having. I couldn’t find time to work on web site updates that were long past due. I was worried about not having time to get the bills paid before the end of the seemingly very short month. Plus, on top of that, I was trying to fight off a cold. Things just kept piling up and by Friday night I was spent.
Saturday I got up with my own agenda in mind while everyone else in the house had a different one. As much as I’d like to deny it, Evie will be turning 2 in a couple of weeks and I wanted to set up my makeshift photography studio, experiment with some lighting, and attempt to get some good photos of her. I thought this would relax me, but I found myself getting angry at my not quite 2-year-old for wiggling when I wanted her to sit still. I kept getting interrupted by Zach and Hubby kept asking me questions until the point that I lashed out at him.
I finally decided to give up on the pictures because I was getting too frustrated (and so was Evie). Hubby left to pick something up at the store. I took Evie back to her room for a nap where we snuggled for a few minutes and I apologized to her for yelling. Then she asked if we could go take more pictures. If she’s willing, I’m game. I took her back to the playroom where everything was set up and we tried again. This time, instead of getting frustrated, I tried to make it fun. We sang songs, we laughed, and we had a good time until I could tell she was tired of it. I got some great photos of her smiling and laughing.
Sometimes I just have to hit the edge before I can see a situation clearly. The rest of the weekend was better. I still had to do things like pay bills, stress over money, feed my children, bathe them, and all the rest of the mundane daily tasks, but I tried to keep myself in a better frame of mind. I didn’t find the time to finish editing photos, to dig into the photography books I’ve been dying to read, to browse around on the Clickin’ Moms forum like I wanted to. But those things will still be there tomorrow, and the many days after that.
Besides, I did manage to get some gorgeous photos of my little girl and even a few of my boys too.
Rest assured, I’ll be sharing more of these once I have a chance to do some editing. My lighting and exposure wasn’t quite right, but I’m learning.
And, for those of you interested, here’s a small piece of Zach’s music program performance. He was so excited for this and did such a good job. This proud mama was beaming.
Valentine’s Day is coming up and to celebrate, the iheartfaces photo challenge theme this week is “We Heart Kisses”. The photo I picked this week happened a bit by accident. We had a little more snow than expected last Friday and when I picked the kids up they were begging to play in the snow. We played outside for over and hour and had fun making a snowman. When I stopped to take some pictures of the kids with the snowman, Zach leaned over and gave the snowman a kiss.
Head over to iheartfaces and check out some of the other We Heart Kisses Photos!
Comments closedThis weekend, as usual, we were on the go. Friday and Saturday we spent shopping, errand running, and doing just general household stuff. Sunday, we headed up North for church, then spent the rest of the day at my sister’s house hanging out and watching football. I took advantage of the downtime and played around with my camera a bit. My nephews seem to be getting a bit tired of me always having a camera in their faces, but they did allow me to get a few good shots.
This little guy is so photogenic! He tries to play shy, but he really loves the camera.
Ryan is Zachary’s best friend and a total goofball.
Dylan is 10 years old now, which totally blows my mind. I rarely get a good shot of him because he’s always hiding from the camera, but I love this one!
When bath time rolled around, Evie insisted that she get in the tub with Brayden. They had so much fun playing together! I love these photos because you can see on their faces just how much they were enjoying it.
Dear Evie,
Oh my little monkey, here you are at 22 months old and already I’m seeing visions of your pre-teen years. You’ve always had a little sass to you, but recently the sassiness has escalated to levels I was not prepared for. Rest assured, I am not the only one that has noticed this. You suddenly seem to think that you control the world. Though I hate to burst your bubble, I have to tell you that it just is not so.
All of this attitude came along with a huge speech explosion. It seemed like overnight you went from saying single words to speaking in sentences and making demands. You tell us what you want, when you want it (NOW!), and how you want it. When we don’t comply with your wishes, you let us know just how unhappy you are by screaming like a banshee and repeating yourself over and over again. Maybe you’re trying to make us understand your words, but yeah, WE GOT IT.
You have also discovered the fact that humans were blessed with free will and you apparently think that makes all things in life optional. So now, when Mommy says things like, “Evie, it’s time to take a bath.” you respond with, “NO, I NOT!” It was charming and rather funny the first few times, but it got old really fast. Even the things you like to do (like take a bath) usually get a “NO, I NOT!” these days until you figure out that you really do want to do it. I know you’re only trying to assert your new found independence, but I still dream of the day when “yes” becomes your favorite word.
While it may sound like I’m complaining about all the talking, I absolutely love it! I finally get to know what’s going on in your head. We have actual conversations now which just amazes me. You are one smart little girl. You have a great memory and surprise me constantly with all the words you know. The best part though, is when I tuck you into bed at night. Every night we say a bed time prayer and then sing a couple of songs to help you settle down. You can almost recite the entire prayer with me now and you always request “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and sing along with me to the words you know. It’s a sweet way to end a busy day and I enjoy it every time.
Your brother, on the other hand, does not like you talking so much. You see, before you started talking, he was under the impression that he controlled the world because he was the only child in the room that spoke. He assumed that his demands were the only ones that existed, simply because we heard no others. Now things have changed and he’s having a hard time getting used to it. He gets really upset when we allow you to make a choice before him (even though we generally alternate) but I suppose it is just something we all have to get used to. I remember arguing about the same things with my brother and sister.
You are becoming so much more independent all of a sudden that I have to remind myself to just let you do things yourself. You are getting really good at using your fork and spoon and actually getting the food to your mouth. You have also started using a regular cup when we’re at the table. You usually still request a sippy cup full of milk when we’re finished eating, but it is nice to see that you can use a regular cup without spilling too much.
The other thing we’ve been really working on is potty training. You know exactly what to do when we get you to the potty at the right time, but you aren’t really telling us when you need to go. I think you’ll be there soon. You’re brain has just been busy focusing on other things. You definitely have the right idea. You do love wearing your pull-ups during the day and can even pull them up and down by yourself now.
A few weeks ago, your day care provider started watching a new baby. I was a little afraid of how you would react at first because you and your BFF had been the babies there for so long. You seemed to adjust just fine though. At home, you started carrying your baby dolls around with you constantly. You tell us when they are hungry, feed them bottles, change their diapers, and tuck them into bed when they are sleepy. I love watching you take care of them. You’ll be a great mama some day.
Each month seems like it goes by faster and faster as I watch you growing up so fast. Two is less than two months away now. As you inch towards it, I feel myself relaxing in some ways. Even though I still call you a baby, you really aren’t any more. I see more and more glimpses of the big girl you are quickly becoming and I am so proud.
Love always,
Mama
A week sure does go by fast, eh? That means it’s time for another iheartfaces photo challenge. This week’s theme is “We Are Family” which means you get to see my face for a change!
As usual, I wasn’t prepared for this challenge, so I scrambled around last night trying to get my husband and kids to cooperate while I played with my new wireless remote trigger. They were much more interested in playing Mario Bros. on the Wii than they were in a photo shoot, so I snapped a few and figured I’d take what I could get. It certainly won’t win any rewards, but I can say I participated and well, it’s pretty typical of my family!
Head over to iheartfaces and check out some of the other (much more amazing) We Are Family Photos!
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