everyday life

I read a post on a photographer's website a month or so back, about how she misses catching glimpes of her own children and their everyday moments. She talked about how she really got into photography when she had her first baby and wanted to capture every smile, every laugh, every frown, etc, and then she got so into photography, that she lost sight of that. She also mentioned all of the photos of other people she takes, and so little of her own family.

I am in no way claiming to be a photographer of any sorts, but her post really hit home. In the last few years I strive for the "perfect" lighting, exposure, composition, etc, that I miss a lot of moments. The common, maybe not perfect, but very beautiful, every day moments. I'm going to try harder to get those. To sneak up on my kids more, so they don't hide or give me a super cheesy smile that I'm not going to recognize in 20 years, because it's not really their smile. I'm really gonna try.

Here are a few snapshots of our every day life......


Tanner is really into legos. And it's finaly hit home to him, that as a boy, he can have his shirt off if he's hot. (he's incredibly modest... annoyingly so). Elle's hair is always in her face, there's generally food on her face and she has yesterdays clothes on. Binkie and blankie in tow.

Tanner still spends hours a day doing art. He loves it.

Kate is our serious one. A deep thinker, that one. She also loves tv. Max and Ruby is her favorite. Tanner eats smoothies. Every. Single. Day. He's moved from his green smoothies, to coconut milk/raw almond/cocoa smoothies, to his current favorite....greek yogurt, agave and frozen fruit.

We play a lot of card games around these parts. Mostly Kate and I. Go Fish, Crazy Eights and Old Maid are the favorites. We throw Memory, Chutes and Ladders and Candyland in sometimes. She could play games ALL DAY LONG.

I spend way to much time researching and experimenting with alternative sweetners. Whole dates, date sugar, coconut/palm sugar, agave and raw honey. I can't tell you how many batches of cookies I've made with 100% whole grains and no sugar. Some of them turn out really good. And some...not so much. My kids will beg for cookies and I'll say no. They beg again, and I say no. Then they'll ask, "What about healthy cookies Mom. Pleeeeeaaaase?" It's hard to say no.

Throw in a LOT of screaming from my two girls, driving to and from school, me perusing design blogs, toys in every single room of our house and some dirty dishes, and you have a pretty accurate picture of our monday thru friday life. I'll have to save the weekend for another post.