In Other Words

I was tagged, then boo'ed!

What is going on around here?  First I was tagged, now I've been boo'ed.  That's right...a few days ago I walked out my front door only to find a large bag filled with Halloween goodies.  Imagine my son's delight as he dug through the bag to find cupcake mix and sprinkles, M&M's, candy bars, cookie cutters..sheer joy! 

As I read through the sheet that accompanied the package I realized that I needed to pay the gift forward x's 2 within 24-hours.  So the boys and I loaded in the car and headed to the store.  We filled our basket with chocolate bars, skittles, mini-cookie cutters, candles, and suckers.   When we got home we quickly filled the bags and headed out like super-sleuths to deliver our goods.  It reminded me a bit of when I was little and my mom would make beautiful May Day baskets for our friends and neighbors.  She used to drive us near the house (close enough to walk, but not close enough for the recipients to see our car).  My sister and I would sneak up ever so quietly to the house and leave the basket sitting on the front door step.  It's been a long time since I've delivered May Day baskets but the memories came flooding back as I hid on the side of the neighbors garage waiting for my son while he ran the bag up to the doorstep.

It's been a few days since we delivered our bags and it seems there isn't a house in the area without a "boo" sign on their door.  This whole experience just confirms our decision to live where we live.  When we were looking for location options 3 years ago we kept coming back here because of the "neighborhood" feel.   I love the idea of neighbors helping neighbors and being involved with one another.   It reminds me so much of the good ol' days when I was growing up in a very small town in Nebraska.  I know the media and society as a whole would have us believe that those "good ol' days" are long gone, but I disagree.  I think they are coming back stronger than ever and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

If any of you want to start a boo chain in your neighborhood click HERE for a list of everything you'll need!

Happy booing!

I've been tagged?!!

Ooh...it's a blog first for me!  I've been tagged by my good friend Frederique.  I'm supposed to write down "5 weird things about me".  My first reaction was "Wow..only 5?!"  Ha!  My list could be a few miles long.   Needless to say this list of 5 didn't take me long to come up with:

1) I'm obssesive about birthday parties for my kids.  I love them!  I'm 31-years old yet I'm like a kid in a candy store when it comes to planning a party.  My son's first birthday is this Saturday and I'm planning a carnival party complete with games, chili dogs, mini-donuts, pumpkins decorated as clowns.

2) Every time I drive past a cemetary I find myself wanting to hold my breath.  I know..WEIRD.  But when I was young someone told me that you had to hold your breath when you passed a cemetary or you'd breathe in the spirits.  TOTALLY don't believe it for a second but I still go to do it...must be a habit?

3) All of my hangers MUST be the same (white platic).  Absolutely NOOOOO wire hangers or cheap clear hangers allowed in our closets.

4) I only drink one Diet Coke/day and it has to be at lunch.  It drives me CRAZY if I sit down for lunch and discover that we have no Diet Coke left. 

5) I can't go to sleep at night unless I've looked in on my kids sleeping snug in their beds.

6) I know, I know...it's only supposed to be 5 but after you read this you'll understand.  I delivered my youngest son in the car.  How's that for weird?!  NO...it was not intentional!

That was a fun game!!!  Thanks Frederique!

Friends...

Do you all have "one of those friends"?  By that I mean, a friend who is always there...someone who steps up to the plate when you need something, or offers to help before you even ask?  I have a friend like that and today I'm just reflecting on how lucky I am to have her.  The past month or two have been crazy as I struggle to get my bearings straight with my business.   Well, last week my friend offered to bring her son over and watch my kids for the day so I could have a full workday in my office without interuption.  Typically I take my work days on my husbands days off which means that we get zero down time as a family.

So, last Monday my good friend showed up at the door carrying a bag full of goodies. It reminded me a bit of Mary Poppins showing up at my door step!  HA!  Anyway, she came in and entertained my kids all day long.   When I say "entertained", I mean ENTERTAINED.  She did puzzles, crafts, baked (chocolate chip bars..YUM),  took the boys outside, you name it!  All of this was done without any mention of exchange of services.  Nothing.  She was doing it to be a friend.

That same day I had another friend, Susan Braswell, one whom I've never met doing a spontaneous photo shoot for a family whose son was diagnosed with a very serious heart condition.  Baby Jacob was born to American parents in Italy but was flown to the U.S. to undergo heart surgery.  She cleared her schedule and went to the hospital without a moments hesitation.  The photos she captured are nothing less than spectacular.

These two instances have really made me stop and think about what it is to be a friend.  Lately I've been so wrapped up in work and my family that I haven't been much of a friend to anyone.  I'm surprised I still have friends really.   I've been pouring so much time and energy into other stuff that my friendship glass is really being neglected.  It's about time I set aside time to be a friend.  Do something thoughtful or helpful for my friends so they know how valuable they are to me.  Friendships are something I tend to take for granted and I shouldn't. Many people would love to have the kinds of friends I have and it's up to me not to lose them!

So, today I am thinking of ways that I can BE a friend in hopes of continuing to build friendships rather than just take from them.

Happy Monday!

An object in motion...

tends to stay in motion.  Isn't that how the ol' saying goes?  It might explain why I haven't been around here much in the past few weeks.  Besides being up to my eyeballs in work, I am also spotting my youngest son who is just learning to walk. 

There it is...just in case you needed a visualize.  My "baby" is walking.  He's just shy of his 1st birthday (only 2 weeks away) and it looks as though he'll be trotting along steadily by his big day.   It seems to me that "walking" is such a big milestone.  It's the official end of the "baby phase" and the start of the "busy phase".  Looking through the photos I snapped of my new little walker tells me that I need to brush up on photographing moving objects.  A skill I thought I had mastered when my first son started walking.  Evidently not! 

Saturdays....

I love Saturdays...especially in the fall.  I have the windows propped open just a tad to let the cool breeze in while I do nothing more than clean, clean, clean.  Kinda' crazy how a bucket full of vinegar and water can smell so good on a day like today.  The smell reminds me that all of my effort will pay off.  Tomorrow when we come home from church to a clean house that actually smells clean as soon as I open the door!

These lazy Saturdays are cherished times.  My oldest son vegged out watching Saturday morning cartoons, my youngest upstairs napping (exhausted from all of his walking attempts this morning), me on my 2nd cup of chai tea...mmmmmm, mmmmm, good!  Cleaning supplies out and ready to work!

Clean house or bust!! LOL!

Happy weekend everyone!

Exhale...

 

Can you hear that???  It's me..breathing!  Whhhhhhheeeeewwwwwwww!  The wedding is done.   All the photos have been proofed, proofed some more, put into a slideshow and sent to the bride and groom!  Now I just have to sit and wait to hear if they like them.

I have a new respect for my wedding photographer friends.  Oh my word...it is a process.   A very, very long process.  From planning shots before the wedding to the final touches on the slideshow...so many details!

It feels so good to have accomplished this goal of shooting a wedding.  Part of me really wanted to push myself and put myself in a challenging photography situation.  Ha!  Be careful what you wish for eh?  Not only did I have my camera issues &  frozen cf cards the night before the wedding, I was also dealing with full on sun both before and after the ceremony.  Plus the church was under major renovation so there was construction equipment EVERYWHERE.  It was a challenge all right.   I really had to be on my toes watching my surroundings, metering quickly, compensating for things left and right...I had to move fast.  I never imagined I would be able to work as fast as I did.

As much as I'm glad I accomplished my goal, I'm not sure I'll do another wedding again for a while.  Being mommy to two young boys makes the time committment of a wedding kinda' hard.  I'm sure the process would get easier the more shoots I do, but for now I think I'll stick with portraiture!

Happy Tuesday!

The guilts...

I've been suffering from a bad case of "the guilts" for the past few weeks.  Guilt over not having enough time to be a better wife, spend with my boys, take time for me (as is evident in my lack of blog entries).  The past few weeks have been insanely busy with work.  So busy in fact that I actually hired a sitter for two full days to watch the boys just so I could work.  This is something I NEVER imagined I would have to do!

See...I gave up my carreer as a high school teacher with the birth of my first son.  Our objective was to have me stay at home with the kids since my husbands work schedule has him gone for very long hours and he works weekends.  It seemed the best option for me to be at home.  For the past three years I have felt incredibely fortunate to have the opportunity to be SAHM mom.  It is a blessing!  Then I discovered photography. 

Little by little my passion grew and I started to build a business.  Neither my husband or I figured it would turn into this.  Where I am working nearly full-time and find myself needing help with the boys.  It's the word "help"...that's a hard pill for me to swallow.  Maybe it's my pride (or the fact that I'm extremely stubborn)...but asking for help is VERY hard for me to do.  It makes me feel as though I'm losing in the game of mommyhood.

The other day my husband and I were talking about options that might help relieve my current situation.  I could a) cut back on the number of photo sessions/month, b) hire a sitter once a week so I can have a full work day, c) hire a cleaning lady so I am relieved a some of the household duties.  It seemed at first that cutting back on the number of photo sessions was the right answer.  I went to bed thinking I would only take on 3-4 clients/month giving me more than enough time to do mommy duties and clean the house.

After sleeping on it overnight I just didn't feel that was the right decision.  You see, I feel called to photography.  It seems to me that things have happened the way they have for a reason.  Like there is a purpose to all of it.  I truly believe that the photography skills I have worked so very hard to learn in the past few years were meant for some greater purpose.  Sure, all the shoots I've had in the past few months have led to a lot of craziness.  But I can't help but feel like there is a reason behind it.   I'm not sure what my purpose is yet, but give me time...I will find it!

So for now, I will swallow my pride.  I will seek help in the mommy and wife arenas which in turn will allow me to spend more quality time with everyone in my family.  This is certainly not what I had planned, but the one thing I've learned in my life is that I am not in control. 

Happy Monday!