It’s pretty funny how much boys love their trains. It’s kinda like how my daugther loves everything Princess. This little guy in particular REALLY loves trains. His daddy really taught him all sorts of great things. He took me up and down the train tracks eager to show me and tell me all about them, pausing in between to throw me a big grin.
His mama was a little nervous about the photo shoot and told me he doesn’t like to smile for the camera. That’s the beauty of these type of portrait sessions, get a little one in his environment and he is all smiles.
There is something really special about this little guy. He exudes this old soul charm. I enjoyed our whole session at the train.
He had so much fun that I felt bad for him when he had to leave.
It’s been over 2 weeks since I last blogged. I feel like I am in confession. I actually feel a little guilty about not blogging, I have so many fun things to share but the reality is I have no time to do it. And the culprit is– SNOW.
Most of you have heard about the weather, it’s dominating most news headlines and it’s effecting the whole country. For those of you who are curious…..life in the 2011 Colossal Snowy Winter goes a little something like this.
You watch the weather report every day. And text and call your friends to see what they have heard about the next storm.
You keep your house above 70 degrees because the second the heat goes off the chill hits the air immediately.
The hubby wakes up at 545 cleans up the driveway. Kids get up and ready for school. Dust off your car head out in the snow. Drop you kids off at school. 10 min later you get a text that it’s early dismissal. An hour later you pick your kids up from school and you head home and hunker down.
Next day message at 5am that there is delayed opening and for most they still go to school….but for life of 2 preschoolers that also equals no school.
Every now and then your husband doesn’t hear the 5am message so he heads on into the girls’s room and wakes them up at 630. Yay. Fun for me.
Now understand my kids are still very little so they already have a limited time in pre-school. Which basically means that we have spent our entire winter at home so far.
You spend the next 24-48 hours entertaining 2 toddlers who are just as sick of the snow as you are. You build caves, you play games, you color, you do art projects, and of course—watch tv and movies.
You wait patiently for honey-do to get home and the minute he hits the door, you hand over the kids and you run hiding in another room. Hey, I am just being honest.
And by 9m you and the honey-do (who nevers misses a day of work due to snow) crash out and can’t even make it through your favorite tv show. Good thing for DVR.
Oh yeah what about the occasional break? Well, that other that time is spent taking care of yukky noses & ear infections, catching up on laundry, and housework. All in all, the extra time spent bonding with my 2 toddlers is priceless but it can be a bit isolating too.
Every now and then you do get lucky and there is a break from the snow and snot. You have friends over and welcome the relief of a playdate for your kids and of course some adult talk time. We pretty much spend the whole time complaining about the weather, the school closings, and those nasty colds. All the while wishing we were somewhere else a bit warmer and exchanging strategies on how to beat the winter blehs.
Or you do what I do. When you can’t take the isolation any longer, you call your family with lots of boo hoos and 2 days later one of them jumps on a redeye flight and stays with you for a week.
Aww….family, there is nothing else like it. And what a welcome relief and break from this weather. Thanks Sarah, the girls and I enjoyed every minute of your time.
So why can’t I spend a few minutes here and there doing something productive? Well although my girls do play independently and nicely at times, they still prefer to do that with me in the same room as them. A room far away from the computer. I have had an unscheduled sabbatical from the internet. Time away from the blog, photo challenges, twitter, and *gasp*–facebook. I miss the connections and sharing but the downtime has been a positive too–besides extra time with the kiddies, I have actually been reading.
I am hoping to get back in the swing of things. I am hoping that we have a couple of good weeks and I am dreaming of some 50 degree tropical days and craving springtime outside in the garden.
We will see……like I said…dreaming. Right now the weather is calling for 2 more days of snow next week.
Oy.
I better hit the book store for some more good reads and the toy store for some more games.
It’s week 2 of MCP’s Project 52. This week’s theme is “illustrate a song”.
Click play, turn up the sound, and enjoy the song.
I am going way beyond what is required by embedding a song with my photo. But I think hearing it really speaks to how and what I am feeling. I am sorry if it’s a bit dramatic. I get like that sometimes.
I have been so down and blah these last few weeks. Tired, overwhelmed with life, kids, the cycle we get caught up in with the day to day. I don’t like when I get or feel this way. I can’t explain why I do. I am sure others feel the same way but I need to snap out of it.
What’s really sad is that my kids sense it. My 2 yo looks at me and can tell something is bothering me and says “mommy are you happy?”. I respond, “no mommy is sad right now.” She says, “are you sad mommy?” I say, “Yes honey, mommy is sad.” Without hesistation she gets in my face looks at me closely and says, “mommy I make you happy.” She kisses me on one cheek and then kisses me on the other. She looks back at me and says, “mommy are you happy now?”. And of course I can’t help but smile and nod.
It always gets to me. The thought that my kids will ever remember me as a happy mom or a sad mom.
I am not ashamed to admit that I have off days.
Luckily I am more happy than sad on most days but I want them to remember happy moments.
The world is not the “perfect world” that I was hoping to raise my family in but being around my 2 girls makes all the bad things go away. The recent tragedy in Arizona breaks my heart and I can’t imagine what the families are going through.
This song illustrates why I choose to try and make a change to be better.
To be better to my husband. To be better to my family. To be better to friends.
To be better to strangers.
But most of all to be better to my 2 girls.
Because no matter how grumpy I can get, or how ugly I feel at times, or how dirty my house can get…….all these things really do NOT matter to them. They still look at me as if I hang the moon.
In my Daughter’s Eyes-Martina McBride.
Sorry if my words interfere a bit with the song.
This song is probably best illustrated with multiple photos or a slide show but I will stick to the plan of 1 per week.
I knew exactly what song I wanted to use and what kind of picture I wanted to take. What I didn’t know was how I was going to edit the photo. I was inspired by an old friend of mine, who is a photographer. She took the most beautiful photo of a road and added texture to it. I have never used texture before but thought I would give it a try.
I love the way it turned out. It gives a little character to the photo and really matches it up to the song. I love learning new techniques.
