Realities & Blessings...

Happy Friday, everyone! We've done it...we've made it through another week. This one felt very long to me for some reason...perhaps due to sleep deprivation. But anyways, I am really looking forward to this weekend. There calling for sunshine and warmth and we plan to do some outside work and some gardening.

So let's get to it: the part of the week where I mentally turn the realities of my life into blessings so that I can enter the weekend with a fresh perspective. And this week I'm sharing with you the rest of the pics from a mini session I had with my girls on Friday night {the others I shared in Wednesday's post}.

Reality: After resisting for nearly I year, I have caved and joined Facebook. As if I really need another social media addiction {I am already a Flickr addict and a blog junkie!}, I now have yet another place to go and waste time that I do not have.

Blessing: You know, it really is kind of neat. And as soon as it's newness wears off, I'm sure I'll be able to exhibit a little more self control. I'm getting to chat with siblings and cousins as well as members of my growing online network of friends. It's deepening my relationships all over the place and I like that! Plus, Maya is teething again so we are not sleeping at night and she is nursing way more during the day...so what else is a sleepy mama strapped to a baby and chair to do? If you're on FB and you haven't found me yet, please do so!

Reality: I really {as in REALLY} need to get some organizational systems in place. I'm just not an organized person and I need some new routines that enable me to manage all my tasks.
Blessing: My chaotic life is a great motivator to get some new working systems in place. Rayne will be done with school in a few weeks and I'll be able to begin some new routines and habits and hopefully streamline a few of the processes going on around here. We are also having a huge yard sale here in a few weeks and I think the purging of a lot of bulk and excess will pave the way for more simplified living. So even though big changes have not been made around here yet, they are coming!

Reality: I had my very first portrait session this week and I made quite a few elementary mistakes. I was nervous and therefore felt too quiet to ask for poses and such right off the bat. I'm very used to just quietly following my kids around, snapping photos constantly...they barely even notice the camera between them and me. I really had to pull back and remember that I had to communicate with my subjects a bit more and not just snap constant pictures. It's an adjustment that is going to take time getting used to. I'm way more comfortable with shooting people as they are than trying to pose them.
Blessing: My first experience went rather well for any portrait session...let alone my first! Sharon and her family were so easy to work with and it really helped that we are friends and already comfortable with each other. The experience was so important and I've really seen that I want to continue practicing portraits outside my family so that I can get better and hopefully start doing them professionally at some point. Honestly, the whole experience was one big blessing! {btw...thank you sooooo much for all your kind words on the sneak peek! You guys made me feel wonderful!}

Well, I'm tired and I'm really ready to wrap up this week and start working towards the weekend. I'd love it if you joined in on the R&B fun...if you do, please link back here and feel free to leave your link in the comments!

Have a great weekend, friends! I hope to be by sometime...to say hello if nothing else. But if not, I'll see you Monday with the rest of Sharon's maternity photos!

Realities & Blessings...

Okay, so here we are again. It's Friday and I'm going for a second round of Realities & Blessings! It's simple, I give a reality of my life this week and then its proverbial silver lining. Alrighty then...

Reality: I am so ready for spring. Really and honestly and truly. I'm ready for flip flops and cherry blossoms, sunshine and long walks. However, last night we got another eight inches of snow :( And it's super cold :( And it's super windy :(
Blessing: I adore taking pictures of snow. So last night, after a long day inside with a very sick Maya, I got to head out and take some pictures {which I can now share with you here today because this is all about making beauty out of messes, right?}. Taking pictures, being outside...it all just relaxed and rejuvenated me.

Reality: I allow my children to watch TV when I need a break, when they need a break, when Maya needs a nap and we need some quiet. I try to limit daily TV time to no more than an hour and a half or so...but some days it's way a bit more. {however, some days it's also zero...just depends on the day}

Blessing: I really only let them watch PBS and it's most often Sesame Street which I totally count as learning time! In fact, today as Rayne was requesting her afternoon snack, she said "pretzels and fruit snacks, por favor." For those of you not well acquainted with Sesame Street or the Spanish language, 'por favor' means 'please.' :) Thank you Sesame Street!

Reality: I have challenged myself to 52 weeks of self portraits: I must take a self portrait each week. This is hard for me as I don't really love to see myself in photos. I realized that I had been hiding behind Maya in many of my recent selfies. So I took some more artistic photos {see above} and I was really happy with how they turned out. However, Brent did not 'get' my artistic vision. He did not love the photos as I had loved them.
Blessing: I love him anyway. In fact, I love him more for being honest with me. And, I posted the photos on Flickr anyway and got the positive feedback I was looking for from my beautiful and like minded Flickr friends. {I love you guys!!!}

Reality: Maya's new thing is to get into the kitchen pantry and 'rearrange' the spices, cans, and whatnot. She's even taken to throwing jars of baby food {because they sound really cool when they hit our hard ceramic tile floor} and also pulling out all the muffin tins, bread racks, Pyrex dishes, etc. I then have to put everything away...provided it's not broken.

Blessing: Well, she's so stinking cute that I have a hard time seeing anything she does as less than adorable. Also, her focused play in the pantry allows me to clean dishes and cook for the rest of the household {because they do like to eat meals...on clean dishes}. Plus, her curiosity and determination will serve her well in the future.

Reality: Maya was sick...really sick...almost all week. So I spent yet another week not getting a thing done around the house. We have piles of laundry and dishes...both clean and dirty...covering most surfaces in our house.

Blessing: One week from tomorrow, Maya will turn one year! Her days of laying in my arms and being glued to my hip are numbered. I'm a little sad about this upcoming birthday and this week offered me plenty of extra cuddle time with my baby!

Reality: Because of Maya {and Layla} being sick this week, I didn't get to write all the blog posts that I had in mind for this week. This probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but I actually have a backlog of blog post ideas going and I was hoping to get through a bunch this week.

Blessing: There is so much good stuff coming next week including a special new project coming on Monday and a two part series on creativity!

So there you have it, friends. Two weeks in a row! I think it's officially a "thing" now! I'd love it if you joined in. If you do, just post your link in the comments.

Here's a few more pics of my winter evening photo walk...

Happy Friday, everyone! xo